Through The Season PT II
by Tayrion
Summary: Continuing some years after Through The Seasons ended. Clark faces a new crisis in his life, and returns to Smallville to figure things out. Chpt. 40 uploaded 22 Dec. COMPLETED
1. Prologue

PROLOGUE

Clark entered the Talon. He had just got to Smallville from Metropolis. He didn't like the idea of spending another hour in that practically empty apartment of his, and after his mother's insistence he decided to move back here with her temporarily, until he sorted out his head and his heart.

His mother still came to the Talon every day to check that everything was going smoothly. Even though she now lived at the house that Clark had bought for her, she felt that the Talon was the only thing she had left to take care of. So despite the fact that the two girls, who were almost running the place, were very capable, as the owner of the place she was constantly there. Besides, she knew everyone in town and it was a fact that Smallville loved her.

When Martha saw him approach, her heart sunk. He was still in a bad shape. His eyes had black circles from lack of sleep, and he seemed tired. Not physically, but mentally tired. Still it was her son coming to live with her. A huge smile then formed in her face. She had visited him last week, just like every single week of the last six hard months of his life, but now she was seeing him literally walk back in her life. She immediately put down the mug of coffee and ran to him.

Clark seeing her reaction couldn't help but smile. She was acting like she hadn't seen him for years. But of course he didn't mind it one bit. If he was to admit it, he really needed his mother's open and unconditional displays of love. Especially at this point in his life.

He opened his arms and hugged her tightly.

"Oh… I'm so glad you decided to go through with this." Said his mother with an almost choked voice.

"Me too mom. Although I don't like the idea of becoming a burden, I…"

His mother abruptly broke off the hug and lightly slapped him across the face. "Don't you go talking all nonsense on me Clark. Burden? My son?"

Clark chuckled lightly. He hadn't done that for quite some time. As the years passed by and ever since his father died, his mother had become somewhat more quirky. He liked it though. It was the only thing that managed to lift his spirits once in a while.

"Ok mom… Ok… sorry… it was just a matter of speech…" said Clark smiling.

"Matter of speech… my son… burden… "Martha almost mumbled. "Did you bring your stuff?" she asked Clark quickly changing the subject.

"Yeah they're out in the car. Mom as I have to unpack and take a shower, I'm going to your place, and I'll be back here in a while."

Clark drove a couple of blocks down the street and reached his mother's house. He really liked it. It wasn't as big as the farm, but it certainly had the right feel. It was the first really important thing that Clark bought, with the money he had saved, ever since he had become a full fledged reporter.

He unpacked everything and entered the house. Even though he had come here before, it surprised him every time, how much this place felt like home. His mother had done a wonderful job with this house.

After he had put everything in its place, he went in for a shower. As he was standing there, with the hot water falling down on him, Clark closed his eyes and went in deep thought.

_Back living in Smallville after so long. … He… I certainly wouldn't have imagined it a year back. … It was nice of Perry, to let me have a month's leave. I mean I really need it to sort out my head. I wasn't living the last six months. Not ever since she left… Gah! I'm so stupid! How could I let it come to this! I mean… _Clark sighed in frustration. _What's done is done… Besides… I'm going to have to think of a way to make this work, with the Daily Planet. I do have a month off, but then I'm either moving somewhere in Metropolis, or I'm going to have to find a way of living here and going back and forth to work. Not to mention the Superman thing. If I'm here… I will be away from action… I can't do this… But… I can't be Superman if I'm like this… the past six months… I can't find the strength and energy for it… I'm losing my will… I have done less in six months than I used to do in a week before that… but then again… that's probably why it all came to this… _Clark felt his anger boiling, and the only person it was aimed at was himself. His frustration got the best of him and he punched the wall of the shower, opening a quite big hole. He started breathing in and out, which seemed to calm him down a bit. _…I'm going to have to fix this…_

_------------------------------------------_

Lana was walking down the street, pushing along the baby carriage that carried her 2 year old daughter Laura. She had to do some baby shopping. Just last week she had finished moving back to the states from Italy and every day she found out she was missing something new.

As she was blissfully walking down the street she froze as her eyes fell upon a man she hadn't seen for quite some time. A man who was the last person she wanted to see right now.

-----------------------------------

Clark having taken care of everything back in his mother's house, including the big hole in the shower, was walking back to the Talon. Then his heart stopped beating and his breath was caught in his throat, as he came almost face to face with the woman he used to love more than life itself. Lana Lang.

To be continued…


	2. Never be the same again

To avoid confusion, as there will be some time- jumps throughout this fic, i will use their age as an indicator. So if we suppose that Through the Seasons ended when Clark was 18-19 years old, this story happens when he is 32 years old. So any time you see a different age, it means we've gone back... :-)

Never be the same again

20 years old.

Clark is flying at a great speed above the Waters of the Atlantic Ocean. He is finally returning home. He was away for a little less than 2 years, but to him it felt only like a couple of months. He didn't know how to feel. He was certainly scared of what he would find back at home. His parents, his friends he left behind and of course Lana.

Even though he was learning how to control his powers, how to best utilize them for the good of the world, and of the history of his own people, apart from his parents, there was only one image that kept coming back in his mind brighter than a sun. Lana Lang. And as his mind filled with beautiful images, that he had associated with Lana, his heart always ached. It ached because with the way things had gone, he didn't know what would happen to them, and Clark dreaded the thought of not having Lana in his life.

Now that he was only minutes away from finding out the answer, he almost hesitated. He had been away for the better part of two years. That was a long time, for things to not change at all. Of one thing he was certain though. Time had not diminished at all the way he felt about Lana.

32 years old

"Clark…" Lana was the one to speak first. "What are you doing here?" she said as she opened her arms to hug him, putting a weak smile on her face, to hide her nervousness. She really couldn't deal with this now.

Clark snapped out of his momentary trance, and gave Lana a hug. "Hey… I… I'm just here to stay with my mother for a while…" She was as beautiful as ever thought Clark.

_Stay with his mother? …Does that mean that she… Anyway… either way doesn't matter… _thought Lana dismissing the thoughts that were starting to creep in her head. "Oh… Uh… Well… as you can see we are also here… and probably permanently this time." Said Lana with a smile on her face.

Clark then knelt down and took the baby's hands. "And you must be the beautiful Laura, I keep hearing about." Laura reacted to Clark by saying something inaudible and then, turning to Lana, she started crying raising her hands up towards her mother. "Ma Ma!"

Clark panicked thinking that he scared Laura, but Lana chuckled lightly and knelt to take Laura in her arms. "I don't know who she took this from, but she is very… very shy and easily scared. Whenever she meets someone for the first time she bursts out crying for some reason." Said Lana to Clark smiling, as she was rocking Laura in her arms to calm her down.

Clark let out a relieved sigh. "Thank god. I thought it was hate at first sight."

Then Clark looked around a bit awkwardly. "So… back permanently? …Did Clive get a transfer here?" said Clark obviously not liking the subject. Even though, he and Lana haven't been together ever since he left from Smallville, even though more than 10 years have passed, and more importantly despite being happily married for some time, he never liked thinking about Lana's love life. And that had become even harder, ever since she had married Clive and gave birth to Laura.

Lana looked down a bit uncomfortable. "Uh… Clark… Clive is in Japan. We are divorced." Said Lana feeling very uncomfortable since she didn't like to talk about her failed marriage and especially not to Clark.

Clark was surprised. He felt bad for Lana, seeing that it obviously caused her pain, and what's more he felt bad for Laura, but he couldn't deny the fact that deep inside him it felt somewhat good. He never did like Clive, the one time he ever saw him.

"I… I'm sorry Lana… Well… I guess now is as good a time as any to say this. Me and Lois… we are also divorced now. I don't know if that helps in any way…" said Clark a bit clumsily, trying to lighten the mood.

Lana looked at him slightly irritated. "Why in the world would that help me Clark? How can you and Lois being separated help me and Laura in any way?"

Clark was surprised by Lana's reaction. "I… I'm sorry Lana… I just meant it as… you know…" Clark sighed frustrated. "…That was stupid… I'm sorry." As Clark turned to leave, Lana spoke.

"Clark… Look… I'm sorry I snapped at you, I'm just really having a bad time lately." Said Lana dejected.

Clark looked at her with understanding. "I think I know what you mean."

Lana looked at him with a weak smile. "It was stupid though…"

Clark chuckled lightly. "I know… Uh… listen Lana… I'm headed to the Talon, …do you want to perhaps go grab a cup of coffee?"

"I'm sorry Clark… I… I can't… I really have a lot to do…" she said a bit awkwardly.

"How about tomorrow?" said Clark seemingly oblivious to Lana's attempts to avoid him.

"No… Clark… I don't think that would be a good idea…" as she said that she put Laura to the baby carriage and went on her way.

"Bye Clark." She said with melancholy in her voice.

Clark just sat there, frozen, watching her walk away.

To be Continued...


	3. Broken like a promise

Broken Like a Promise

32 years old

8 o' clock in the morning. The phone is ringing incisively as Clark slowly gets out of bed to answer it. His mother obviously had an early start.

"Hello? …Perry? … Calm down… calm down Perry, I can't understand a word you're saying… What? … Lex did what? … Perry stop yelling… Hello? … Oh… Hey Lois… Yes… thanks, I couldn't understand what he was saying. Lex bought the Daily Planet? When did that happen?... And how was he able to do that? … Isn't there anything we could do? … Ok… Ok… I'll be right over…"

Clark hang up the phone and started getting ready_. Lex buying the Daily Planet? Damn him! But… now that I think about it… with the way we've been waging war against his every move, it's strange he didn't do it before… Lois… Oh God… She'll be there… I don't know if I'm ready to see her… I feel so exhausted… No wonder… I only slept for like… a couple of hours… I hope this doesn't mean I will have to get back to the DP right away… I really need this leave… Argh! Snap out of it Clark… Lex is trying to shut down the only voice that's left to oppose him and all I can think about is my leave and Lois! What's wrong with me? _

20 years old

Clark is sitting in his room deep in thought. His mind is all winded up. His father has died, his mother is here alone, Lana has moved to Milan and she is still waiting for any news from him, and all the while he knows what he must do next, which is not something very easily accepted.

_I have to continue my journey. My father told me I have to travel the world and help people, but also help myself by gathering experiences. I must do this! Which means I have to leave my mother alone again and I must not contact Lana only to tell her that I must leave again… But I want to see her so badly… I miss her… But it wouldn't be fair to her… I mean… there is no way that I could include Lana in my life now as it is… I love her too much to even consider asking her… She deserves so much more… Why am I doomed to leave behind every one I love? … I didn't even get to say goodbye to my father…_

"Penny for your thoughts…" said his mother as she quietly entered his room.

"I have to leave again mom." Said Clark with sad determination in his voice.

"Leave? Now?" asked his mother in disbelief.

"I'm sorry mom, I hate to leave you like this, but I must do it!" said Clark as his voice was starting to break.

His mother held back her tears and looked at him with a very serious face. "Look at me. I may not like the idea of you leaving, and I'm certainly gonna miss you. But don't you go worrying about me. Ok. Clark?" she gently lift his head to look her in the eyes, as she smiled sweetly to him. "You go do whatever you have to do. Go find your way in life and make a difference Clark. I know you are going to make a difference in this world. And you are going to make your father and me very proud."

Clark looked at his mother lovingly with tears in his eyes. He hugged her tightly as he whispered to her. "I love you mom! And if I do make a difference in this world, it's going to be because of you and dad."

They remained like this for a while. As they broke off the hug, his mother looked at him smiling warmly, the way only a mother could. "Clark, honey… what about Lana?"

Clark's face darkened at the mention of her name. "I… I can't see her mom… It's going to be too painful for both of us. I don't want to put her through something like that again. Besides she's better off without me in her life." Said Clark with resignation.

"Why do you say that Clark?"

"Because mom… Wherever I am danger is bound to follow, plus I'm going to have to dedicate myself to helping the rest of the world, and Lana deserves someone who she would not have to share. And besides… for the next year or so I'm going to have to travel the world mom, and help people when they need me. I can't be with her even if I wanted to."

Martha touched Clark's cheek and spoke to him lovingly. "Clark you still have a lot to learn. You will have to find a balance in your life, to accept who you truly are. You haven't done that already and maybe you are not ready to do it. But the fact is that someday you will have to do it, otherwise you will not be able to live. As for Lana I would advise you to speak to her, to at least let her know you are still alive. She deserves as much Clark."

"I can't do this to her mom. Don't you see? I will tell her I'm back only to say that I'm leaving again. I can't do it." Said Clark with melancholy as he exited his room.

32 years old

Martha was drinking coffee at the Talon as it had been pretty quiet that morning. Lana walked in with Laura in her arms and smiled when she saw Martha sitting there. After everything that's happened, Lana had come to regard Martha as her mother and Martha always treated Lana as a daughter.

"Where's my favorite person in the whole wide world?" said Martha with a singing voice.

Lana smiled and waved at Martha. "Hello Martha."

Martha approached Lana and gave her a mock angry stare. "Who said I was talking at you." Then she almost grabs Laura from the arms of Lana. "Here she is!" Lana chuckled lightly. Martha hadn't seen Laura that many times, but it was obvious that she loved her as if she was her own child, and she had to admit that the feelings were mutual. Martha was one of the few people that Laura didn't cry at all when she first saw her and she loved getting all that attention from Martha.

"Ma-ta" mumbled Laura, which put a huge smile on Martha's face.

"That's right. It's your favorite aunt Martha!" then turning to Lana, with amazement in her voice. "When did she start saying that?"

Lana smiled. "The last time you talked to her over the phone, and she kept on mumbling, afterwards I told her your name a couple of times and she started saying it."

"Oh my God! You are such a smart little angel, aren't you? Yes you are…" said Martha as she showered Laura with kisses, to which Laura reacted by squinting her little nose and trying to push Martha's face away from her mumbling "blah".

Martha and Lana were caught by surprise by Laura's reaction and they both burst out laughing, which led to Laura also joining in all the laughing and clapping her hands.

After they had finished playing with Laura, Lana and Martha sat at a table to talk.

"So… Lana… Do you want to talk about what's happened?" asked Martha looking at Lana intently.

"Well… you know most of what happened. I mean it was just not working out with Clive. It was obvious that he didn't think having Laura was a good idea, and ever since she was born things have gotten from bad to worse. Not to mention the cheating during my pregnancy. He just found the perfect opportunity to ditch this marriage when they offered him the position in Japan."

"And what about you?" asked Martha

Lana sat thoughtful for a moment. "Well… if I'm going to be honest, I can't say I'll miss him… but I believe Laura deserved to have a family, which is the reason why I tried to make the marriage work, even though I didn't love him. But on the other hand she deserved so much better than him, that I'm almost glad we divorced."

"So now back for good?"

"Well… yeah… after the divorce I started feeling a bit weird there, and I wanted to raise Laura here. I don't know, it just felt right to be back in Smallville." Said Lana with a smile.

"And I'm sure Smallville's happy to have you honey. …Lana can I talk to you about Clark?" asked Martha, as Lana frowned upon hearing his name. She knew that she wouldn't be able to avoid a conversation about Clark with Martha, and she wasn't sure she wanted to get into this now.

Clark Kent was a chapter she'd rather it remained closed.

To be Continued…

ElleLang12: Thnx for your comment andyes i would say that it is a Clana fic :-)


	4. The space between

The Space Between

"What about Clark?" said Lana, feeling way too tired emotionally to be having such a conversation.

"Look honey… I know you don't like taking about this and especially with me, but you have to know that I'm asking you this because I care about both of you." Said Martha in a motherly tone.

Lana sighed in defeat. Even though it might sound like an exaggeration to anyone else, that Martha could care about Lana as much as her own son, Lana knew that she was being honest, which is why she loved her so much. "Don't get me wrong Martha, I know you care about me a lot, but I don't think you can be very impartial on the subject of Clark."

"Try me…" said Martha smiling.

"Well… ok… what do you want to know?" asked Lana giving up.

"Why did you avoid him yesterday?"

"I didn't avoid him Martha, I was being as nice as I could, I just didn't think it would be a good idea for us to go out. That's all."

"He asked you out?" asked Martha in disbelief.

"Well… no… not exactly… just to get together and catch up…" said Lana feeling more and more like the bad guy and also getting very uncomfortable.

"And is that so bad?" asked Martha softly.

"Martha… you of all people know what I've been through with your son! I… I can't… I just can't…" said Lana as she started to get emotional.

Martha placed her hand on Lana's and spoke to her in a motherly and comforting voice. "I know what you mean sweetie, but what you just said means that you still love him."

Lana looked at Martha with misty eyes. "I never stopped loving him Martha, and I never denied it."

"Oh sweetie… come here" said Martha as she scooted her chair closer to Lana's and hugged her tightly, as Lana started to cry softly.

"And believe me Martha, when I realized that nothing could happen between us, I tried to get over him. But do you know what it's like to search for something you have already found but lost, knowing that you're probably not gonna find it? And I haven't found it again since Clark, which is why I can't get over him. And to tell you the truth I always secretly believed that one day he would return to me, but of course that hope came crushing down when he married Lois. I just can't put myself through that again Martha. Not again and for no one. I've got Laura to think about now not just myself." Said Lana as she turned to look at Laura who was blissfully playing with her doll in the close by couch. When she saw her mother looking at her, Laura using the hand of her doll waved at Lana and giggled happily.

Lana couldn't help but chuckle and smile lovingly at her daughter, as she waved back at her. "She is my only priority now Martha." Said Lana with a determined voice.

Martha lightly squeezed her hand and smiled supportingly at Lana. "And she should be. But please Lana, don't give up on Clark completely. He will need you soon, and I'm afraid for him. Please Lana… Please…"

Lana looked at Martha curiously, but also worried by Martha's tone. What did she mean?

---------------------------

Clark arrived at the Daily Planet and he quickly headed for Perry's office. When he entered the office the first thing he saw was Lois. He swallowed hard and he felt his stomach tied in knots.

"Sorry to drag you from your vacations kid but we're in trouble." Said Perry who was pacing up and down the office.

Lois got worried when she saw Clark. He had black circles around his eyes and he seemed in an awful shape. She approached him and whispered to him. "Clark… you ok?"

"Yeah I'm fine." Said Clark a bit abruptly and went towards Perry. "Perry how did this happen?"

"How? He bought the whole damn thing! That's how! He is Lex Luthor. What do you mean how? He convinced most of the board of directors to give up their share to him and now he owns the damn place." Said Perry screaming.

"Yeah but I mean why now? He could have done that from day one, ever since we became practically the only media outlet who constantly opposed him." Asked Clark.

"That would have been detrimental to his image. Silencing the only voice of opposition. He would seem like a tyrant to all of the world. Especially since he became his expansion in Europe. Lex wouldn't want that." Said Lois

"So what changed? What happened to make him change his mind?" asked Clark a bit confused.

"That's what I want to find out!" shouted an irate Perry. "All these years I've prided myself of maintaining one of the most objective papers in the world, and now Lex Luthor owns it. I could very well be fired tomorrow.

After some more steaming from Perry, they decided that Clark would go and meet Lex before he addressed the Daily Planet stuff the following day. As Clark and Lois exited Perry's office, Lois grabbed Clark's hand. "Clark… can we go have a coffee and talk?"

"Talk about what?" asked Clark seemingly indifferent.

"Please Clark… I'm worried about you… You don't look well… and you haven't looked well for some time now… Please let's just go talk for a while…" said Lois with honest concern in her voice.

Clark sighed frustrated. He didn't think being with Lois right now would be such a good idea for his mental health, but he just couldn't say no to her. Not after everything they've been through.

To be continued…


	5. Close yet far

Close Yet Far

"So… shoot away…" said Clark as he was sitting across from Lois in the little French café.

"Clark please, don't be like that… I'm just worried about you… You seem like you don't sleep at all…" said Lois with concern in her voice.

Clark's features softened when he saw that she was sincerely worried about him. "Look… Lois… I'm just going through a bad phase right now…"

"Does it have to do with me?" she asked softly.

"Not exclusively… but I'd be lying if I said you had nothing to do with it." Said Clark smiling weakly.

"But honey…" Lois started to say, before Clark interrupted her.

"Please don't call me that…" he said slightly irritated.

Lois paused when she realized her slip up. "You're right… sorry… Force of habit… As I was about to say… I thought that the divorce was what we both wanted… I mean… we agreed it would be for the best…"

Clark cringed when he heard the words he so often used in the past being thrown back at him. _For the best… Ha… that's a good one… _

"Look Lois maybe it will turn out for the best maybe it won't, but right now it just doesn't seem that way."

"But Clark during the last half year of our marriage you have been miserable. You avoided being with me, and you constantly used Superman as an excuse to not be at home, I mean… I thought that's what you'd also want." Said Lois in a defensive tone.

"I did all that because every time I was there, you constantly reminded me of how bored you were with me… You were always infatuated and in love with superman, Clark Kent was just side baggage." Said Clark aggressively.

Lois looked a bit hurt. "I never said that Clark."

"You didn't have to say it Lois…" said Clark with resignation.

There was silence between them. They both stared at the table in front of them and avoided to look each other in the eyes. Clark was the first to break the silence.

"Lois… I'm sorry… I… well… let's just say you are right… It's not like I was the ideal husband for you… And to tell you the truth… now that I think about it…. the divorce was more of the catalyst to bring about more issues I've had in my head since… forever… I think it was for the best… for both of us…"

21 years old

Clark has spent most of his time traveling the world, and helping people whenever he could. He used his "fortress of solitude" –as his mother had teasingly branded- as a base, and from there embarked upon many travels.

During this time his mind was constantly coming back to Lana, and in the end he couldn't deny his heart and paid her a visit in Milan, just to see her. The first time he went there and saw her, his heart melted. She was even more beautiful then he remembered her, if that was even possible. He saw her being among friends, and having a good time, laughing and enjoying herself. So after a great internal battle, he decided that it would be best for her, if he let her be. He left before she had any chance of seeing him.

That one visit of course led to a couple of more thereafter, and soon it was almost a habit. Twice a week he would go to Milan to check up on her. Of course every time he would leave before she saw him, cause every time he would say to himself that it was for the best.

One day Clark saw in a newspaper called Daily planet, an article entitled, "Man or Superman?", by none other than Lois Lane. It was definitely about him. It contained rumors and sightings of him helping people, and even though it also contained a somewhat irrelevant and off the mark –according to Clark- analysis of some of Nitche's writings regarding Superman, it was full of unabashed adoration and admiration for this new hero.

32 years old

Clark entered the reception of Luthorcorp's base of operations. It was the largest building in Metropolis by far.

"Hello my name is Clark Kent I have an appointment with Mr. Luthor." Said Clark as politely as possible.

"Hold on a minute sir…" said the receptionist as she checked her computer to find the appointment. Clark became nervous as he hadn't actually booked an appointment. Meeting with Lex Luthor had become the same as trying to meet the Pope. He just wished he could convince Lex to meet with him.

"Umm… I'm sorry sir… I can't seem to find any such appointment. I'm sorry…" said the receptionist smiling.

"Yes… but could you please contact him and tell him Clark Kent is here to see him… I'm sure he'll be interested to meet with me." Clark put on his sweetest smile.

"I'm sorry sir I can't do that myself… but… wait a minute…" said the receptionist as she went back and called someone who seemed to be her superior. As she talked to him and pointed at Clark, he smiled broadly and walked over to Clark.

"Mr. Kent, it's a pleasure sir." Said the man extending his hand to Clark.

Clark looked at him curiously. "Do I know you?" he asked as he shook the man's hand.

"I'm sure you don't, but I know you. It's my job to know anyone who is associated, one way or another with Mr. Luthor. Let me just inform him that you wish to see him." Said the man as he phoned Lex on his office. Soon he was back with Clark. "Mr. Luthor is waiting for you sir."

Clark entered the elevator and pushed the button for the 100th floor. He was starting to wonder what exactly he wanted to say to Lex, and he realized that he just wanted some explanations. Their relationship had never been the same ever since they left Smallville, but they were always very civil to each other whenever they met. Truth is, Clark put on a great effort trying to be civil with Lex, as he found himself more and more detesting Lex, as the years passed by.

He walked into Lex's office not sure what to expect, especially now after Lex bought the DP.

"Hello Clark…"

22 years old

Clark is once again back in Smallville, visiting his mother, who was ill at the time. Not anything serious, but Clark wanted to help her any way he could.

As he was out shopping, a car –a black Ferrari- came to a stop beside him in the road. The window came down and Clark saw Lex Luthor looking at him.

"Clark?" as Lex saw that it was Clark, he got out of the car and approached him.

Clark smiled. "Hello Lex" he said as he extended his hand.

Lex shook it and smiled back at him. "What are you doing here and where have you been? It's like you vanished into thin air the last 3-4 years."

"Well… I've been traveling a lot…" said Clark trying to come up with something.

Lex smiled. "I'm glad you took my advice Clark. So where have you been and what have you been doing?"

32 years old

"Ok… Lex what do you think you're doing?" asked Clark trying to control his temper.

"It's always a pleasure to get lectured by you Clark." Said Lex with a smirk. "And to answer your question… What I should have done some time now, but stupid sentimentalism and a false sense of morality kept me from doing."

Clark approached Lex who was sitting calmly at his desk. "Lex you do realize that people will now finally realize who you truly are don't you?"

"I never pretended to be someone I'm not Clark." Said Lex looking intently at Clark. "But the definition of who you've come to believe I am, and who I know I am, are very different as always."

"You are delusional Lex. You are a man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants."

Lex chuckled. "You say that like it's a bad thing whereas I believe it is one of my best qualities."

"The sad thing is that I don't know if you realize the damage you're causing to other people, or you simply don't care…"

"Damage? Do you know what the blood of this world of our civilization is Clark? Of this very society that provides you with everything you have, including the freedom of speech your precious little newspaper has been abusing for so long? Money. That's it. I have become the heart of this world Clark. I'm making money move around. I'm producing money. Without me at this point, the world would suffer, maybe not to the point of dying, but if you had your way our society as you know it would crumble. That's the truth! And yet you continued to slander me whenever you could, with your pseudo-morality code, claiming I am the villain of the story, when the truth is you all depend on me." Shouted Lex who was getting increasingly irritated.

What always surprised Clark, is the fact that despite being constantly on the opposing side to Lex, he never once avoided speaking to him. It almost seemed to Clark, as if Lex was trying to justify himself and wanted Clark to acknowledge that.

"People have died because of some of the things you've done Lex, you have forced companies to close, forced many people to unemployment, and lately I hear you've reached the point where you were somehow involved in the assassination of the Serbian president Simic. You are indeed a big part of this organism we call our society, but unfortunately you are a cancerous one. And now you've reached a point where you eat away everything that stands in your way. That is why you and people like you are the villains Lex."

"You can say and believe what you want about me Clark, but facts remain facts. Ever since Luthorcorp expanded to the Balkans, unemployment there has reduced 5. Investments there have increase almost 10, and the per capita income has gone up almost 4. And even though I did not wish him dead and had nothing to do with his assassination, that man opposed this expansion, because he wanted to maintain his hold of the local black markets. And you think him being taken out of the picture was a bad thing? Because of me even more people around the world have jobs, and progress is higher than ever everywhere. But I guess you'll of course blame me for the fact that there are poor in the world, or diseases, or wars. I shouldn't be too surprised though. It's in the nature of human beings to want to have someone to put the blame upon, to avoid looking deep within themselves for answers. I just always thought you were different Clark."

"What you fail to realize Lex is that even if you have done all this, it doesn't justify the means you constantly use to achieve your goals." Said Clark in resignation.

"That's just a fairy tale for kids Clark. All that matters in the end and all you're remembered for is **what** you've accomplished and not **how**. That's what **you** fail to realize."

16 years old

Clark and Lex sat on the loft and watched the stars, each looking into the future. Clark was a little apprehensive of what would come to pass and what was in store for him, but then he looked at Lex. He had that confidence in his eyes that betrayed his nature. Lex always knew that one way or the other he would leave his mark on the world. No matter what happened he was certain of that, and he would let nothing stand in his way. Clark felt a little jealous of that confidence of Lex, because for Clark, things always seemed too complicated for clear cut answers. There were always too many factors to consider. He just hoped that when the need for serious decisions rose, he would be able to make the right ones.

Clark tried to draw some of the confidence that Lex seemed to have, and then he turned around and kept on looking at the beautiful starry sky, having his friend by his side.

To be continued…


	6. Cold and empty

Cold and empty

32 years old

Clark got up late today. It was almost 12:30 when he woke up but he hadn't slept that much, as he was awake in bed up till 7:00. His mind was troubled by too many things. Lex taking over the Daily Planet awoke in him again the desire to try and stand up against him, although he wasn't sure what Clark Kent or Superman could do about that.

And of course seeing and talking to Lois again, also stirred a whirlpool of thoughts and emotions. He was certain now that it was indeed for the best, and he had to admit that with the way things have been the last year of their marriage, the love he felt for Lois had waned. He still cared for her of course, which was one of the main reasons he thought the divorce was a good idea. He had realized that Lois wasn't happy and he really wanted for her to be happy.

But with that, came the fears he harbored since he was a teenager and found out he was from another planet. The fear of everyone around him leaving –willingly or not- and him ending up alone, as there was no one out there like him.

As he led this double life, he had kept his friends at a minimum, and now he realized that he truly felt alone. His father had died, Lois and him were divorced –and he wasn't sure if they could really maintain a semblance of friendship-, Lex and him had just drifted apart and were now on opposite sides, Chloe had married and moved to Gotham, Pete was also married and lived in Washington, and the only person that was actually close to him, tried to avoid him. The only one left was his mother.

It then hit Clark that he didn't really have that many friends in high school, and his secret had driven off the ones he had, one way or the other. Back when he began as Superman, he thought that he could do this alone, but now he realized that no one can go through life alone. It was stupid of him to believe so from the start. But that's the way it goes. The most important lessons in life you learn the hard way.

22 years old

Clark returned home once again to visit his mother. His travels continued and he was like a sponge, draining knowledge and experiences. He was even starting to get more and more comfortable, with the suit his mother had made for him. At first she had sowed in the chest the symbol of infinity, which was one of the principal symbols of his people, but as it happened, the article that Lois Lane had written had caught on, and now every time people referred to him, they did so as Superman; so his mother replaced the infinity symbol, with a big S. Clark thought it was kind of silly and well… a bit camp… but his mother liked it, so he decided not to say anything to not hurt her feelings.

After he had told his mother some of his latest adventures, he saw her frown a bit, when he mentioned about something he did in Italy.

"Clark… Lana called me…" said his mother with a heavy voice.

When Clark heard the tone of his mother's voice, he panicked. "Is she Ok? Is she hurt?" he said as he immediately jumped up from his chair, ready to take off the minute his mother confirmed his fears.

"She's fine Clark…" said his mother reassuringly. "It's just… she read an article about Superman in a US magazine and she realized that it must be you, so she called me and I confirmed it to her. I also told her that you had returned a bout a year and a half ago."

Clark sat down on his chair and sighed. "Mom… why did you tell her that?"

"I couldn't lie to her Clark… I mean… I also care too much about Lana and … if you'd heard the pain in her voice… I just couldn't lie to her anymore…"

Clark's heart broke when he heard his mother's words. He had caused Lana pain, even though that was exactly the thing he tried to avoid. "What did she say…?" asked Clark not sure if he wanted to hear, what his mother had to say.

"She… she… just wanted to know if you asked about her at all? And I told her that you talked about her all the time. I tried to explain your situation to her Clark, and even though she said she understood, it was obvious that the fact you didn't contact her at all pained her."

Clark remained silent. He closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands, whispering. "Stupid…. Stupid…"

"Why do I always seem to mess up the things I care for the most? Is this also one of my powers?" he said sarcastically as he hit himself on the head.

"Mom… all I ever wanted for her was to be happy… and just by existing I manage to make her life miserable… How the hell do I always do that?" said Clark as he got up from his chair irritated.

"Don't say that Clark. If you made her life miserable, then why would she be calling to know about you, and more importantly why would she love you?" said his mother in a stern voice.

"I don't know, we do a lot of things that are bad for us but we still like them. Maybe it's something like this." He said in frustration.

Martha walked up to him and cupped his head with her hands. "Clark listen to me. You are a wonderful person, and you have given great joy to Lana's life, not to mention that you have been there for her countless times. I know that she loves you and would never regret meeting you and having you in her life."

"But that's the thing mom, she can't have me in her life." Said Clark with tears in his eyes.

"Don't you think that it should be her decision to make?"

Clark looked torn. "I… I don't know mom…" said Clark and he exited the apartment.

To be continued…


	7. Wasted Years

Wasted Years

32 years old

Clark was walking to the Talon when he met Lana on the way there. He approached her a bit hesitantly.

"Hey…"

Lana turned around startled, but relaxed when she saw it was Clark. "Oh God Clark! Don't sneak up on me like that."

"Sorry… I…"

"No… it's ok… I was just lost in thought and you startled me…"

Clark smiled weakly at her. "So… where is Laura?"

"She is with your mother at the Talon. I have to do some shopping and she seemed a bit tired."

"Is she alright?" asked Clark with concern in his voice.

"I don't know… She doesn't seem sick or anything… She just seemed … I don't know… a bit down… "

"Well then… leaving her with my mother will definitely do the trick… I'm sure she'll be all smiles when you go back to get her…" said Clark with a smile.

Lana smiled warmly at him. "I know… Clark your mother is heaven sent… I mean… I owe her a lot…"

"I think that it's the other way around Lana… My mother never forgot how you were there for her when … my father died…"

Lana stood there looking at Clark with a sad smile on her face. Her mind had gone back to that time, and she remembered her feelings and what she had gone through thereafter. _If only things had been different_… thought Lana.

"Anyway… I have to get going Clark…"

"Lana…" said Clark as he took hold of her hand. "Can't we try to at least talk to each other?"

"We are talking to each other Clark." Said Lana looking downwards to avoid his eyes, that were looking at her pleadingly.

"Ok… then let's go somewhere to sit and talk."

"Talk about what?" asked Lana trying still to avoid looking at him.

"Talk about what? Us… What happened to us. I don't know a lot about what happened to you the last years Lana, and I want to have you back in my life… I mean…" Clark didn't have time to finish what he was saying as Lana cut him off.

She looked at him irritated. "You want me in your life? That's new! So when did this change happen all of a sudden?"

"I always tried to bridge the gap that was suddenly between us Lana. It was you who chose to cut me off." Said Clark defensively.

"That's just… I…" Lana paused and breathed in to calm herself, as she was starting to get more irritated. "I can't do this now…" she then turned around and started walking away from Clark.

"Lana…" said Clark as he watched her leave. He stood there looking at her with a heavy heart, and starting to feel even more alone.

22 years old

Clark landed near the apartment Lana was staying in Milan. He made sure no one saw him of course as he quickly changed from his Superman suit to his regular clothes. It was night and her apartment light was on so he figured that she was in.

He entered the building and took the elevator to her apartment. As he stood outside her door, he hesitated.

_Maybe it's a bad idea… I can still leave… I mean… what good will it do? We can't be together… and I don't know if we could be friends… I don't even think it's safe for her to be friends with me now… But I have to see her… talk to her… I at least owe her an explanation… Ok here goes…_

He took a deep breath and ringed the bell. As his heart was staring to beat faster and louder, the door opened and he was face to face with her once more. Lana just stood there looking in disbelief. Clark tried to smile at her.

"Hey…" he said sheepishly.

Lana stood there frozen for a while and then she flung herself on him, as she hugged him tightly. Clark was caught by surprise but soon he felt his heart melt and he put his arms tightly around her. Just holding her again in his arms, made him feel more complete than he ever felt the past 2 years. Soon though he felt her starting to cry as he held her, and he heard her whisper.

"I hate you… Why didn't you come?... Why didn't you come?"

Still holding her, he walked in the apartment and closed the door behind him. He then broke off the hug and cupped her face. "Lana you have to believe me… You were the only thing that was constantly on my mind… But I didn't have a choice… it is my destiny… I can't deny it any longer… and believe me… you deserve so much more than I can give you…" Lana snapped. She abruptly turned around and started walking towards the living room of her apartment.

"You always have a choice Clark…" she said with bitterness in her voice and without turning to face him.

"You're right… But what was I supposed to do Lana? I have all these powers and I must dedicate myself to the betterment of this world… I have no right to drag you into such a life… it's not fair to you…" said Clark very softly.

Lana sat down on her couch and buried her face in her hands. "So why did you come now?"

"Because I wanted to see you… and I owed you an explanation…"

Lana remained silent for a while. Then looking up with her teary eyes she spoke to Clark. "No one can live alone Clark… You can't cut off the people who care about you and still do what you do… No one can do that… Not even you…"

"I will have to do it Lana… It's too dangerous for anyone else to be associated with me. So no matter how hard it is… I must try and do it…" said Clark sadly.

Lana looked at him for a while not saying anything. Then she wiped the tears from her eyes. And put on a brave face.

"So you've come to say goodbye again." She stated simply.

Clark looked at her. "It's not like that… I… We will see each other from time to time… I mean… " he was at a loss for words. His heart was aching but he didn't know what to say. "I… I'm sorry Lana… This is definitely not how I wanted things to be."

"It's ok Clark… I understand… I mean… I can already see how much good you're doing to the world… I wouldn't expect anything less of you…" said Lana as she was desperately trying to hold her brave facade, and not burst into tears.

Clark stood there just staring at her. A part of him had died that day, but he knew it was something he had to do. He then started walking towards the door. "I have to go again…"

Before he opened the door he paused, turned around and looked at Lana one last time, taking in her beauty. He wanted to hold her image deep in his mind and his heart. "I will always love you Lana." He said, then he opened the door and walked out of her life one more time.

After he left, Lana fell to the couch crying, unable to hold her strong facade.

To be Continued…


	8. Wait for me

Wait for Me

Clark entered his mother's apartment, after returning from his "Fortress of Solitude". He had found it was his favorite place, when things were taking a turn for the worse. He always found a comfort and warmth in that frozen "palace" that reminded him of his birth mother.

As he walked in he found his mother sleeping in the couch. He smiled and went over there to cover her, trying to be as quiet as he could. However he was unsuccessful. No sooner had he approached her than she opened her eyes.

"Sorry mom… I didn't mean to wake you." Said Clark with a sheepish smile.

His mom smiled weakly. "It's ok sweetie… besides I wanted to talk to you before I went to sleep today."

Clark looked at his mother, and he noticed that she looked very tired. "Mom… you look beat… you better get some sleep… we'll talk tomorrow…"

"Hush your mouth Clark and sit down to talk to your mother." Said Martha with a smile.

Clark sat beside his mother and held her hand.

"So what's wrong?" said his mother, looking at him intently.

"What do you mean?" asked Clark.

"You went to that place again, so something is definitely not right."

"Same old mom… same old…"

"Clark… you have to get past all this. You can't worry that you'll end up alone, and behave the way you are. You have to loosen up and open up to people. Let people in, otherwise how can you hope to have anyone in your life."

"But that's the thing mom… It's not like I'm not trying. In fact just today I tried again with Lana, and she practically walked out on me again… what can I do… if she doesn't want to have anything to do with me… I can't force her to…"

"I wasn't talking about just Lana… I meant people in general… You have to live life Clark… I thought that you would have learnt your lesson by now, but it seems that I was wrong… You can't do what you're doing alone Clark…"

"I know that mom… I mean… didn't I prove it? I married Lois… I work in a newspaper… I have friends... well… some at least…" said Clark defensively.

"But look at what has happened Clark? You messed up your marriage with Lois, you both did of course… and most of your friends have lives of their own. Clark please… I will leave this earth someday and I want to be certain that you will be alright…" said Martha with real concern in her voice.

Clark smiled and hugged his mother. "You're not going anywhere and you don't have to worry about me… I will find my way mom… I promise…"

"As for Lana… I think that you never really understood what it was for her Clark"

"What do you mean?"

"Have you ever really tried to put yourself in her place? I mean… you can't do that… but at least have you tried to think things from her perspective? I remember you always did things your way… You would do what you thought was right, regardless of what other people thought… Stubborn like your father… But Cark… you never let her make any choices regarding the both of you… you always thought you knew what had to be done, and went through with it… you almost never gave her a choice…" said his mother softly.

Clark looked at his mother hurt. "You really believe that?"

Martha smiled. "It's not that I believe it Clark, it's a fact." Martha couldn't bear to look at Clark's aching face. "Oh sweetie… I know you always meant good… but I just want you to know that what is "good", isn't something everyone agrees upon. Before you go to sleep, think about what she must have thought all these years before going to sleep, and you'll know what I'm talking about Clark." She then leaned in and hugged Clark really tightly. "I didn't want to upset you Clark… But you needed to hear some stuff… Just remember… I'm proud of you. You have helped more people than I ever thought possible, it's just time you helped yourself for once… You'll always be my son, and I will always love you."

--------------------------

18 years old

Oh God I miss him… Especially now… Living in his house… with Martha… I … Why did this have to happen now… This should have been the best year… We would finally be rid of all the crap that was keeping us apart, and we could really enjoy being together, going to college. Now he is gone, his father died and he didn't even see him… He doesn't even know it yet… He will be heartbroken… I just hope I can be there for him… ease his pain any way I can… Where could he be now? I hope he is fine… Why hasn't he contacted home yet? Let him return soon…

19 years old

Martha is right… I can't keep putting my life on hold… I have to think of my future… Making a fresh start would be the best thing for me now… I mean… I would like going back to Europe and studying there… Making a fresh start… It doesn't mean I have to let go of him does it? …I mean… if he returned we could still find a way to be together… why hasn't he come back? Has he forgotten about me? Does he still feel the same about me? … I hope he is alright… Where are you Clark? I love you…

20 years old

Milan is so beautiful. I'm so glad I decided to come here. The school and the people are great. … I could really live here… Clark would also like it here… Not that any farms true… but it has it's own charms… It has already been 2 years since he left… He still hasn't contacted home… I hope he is alright… Has he forgotten about me? … Oh God why can't I get over him… I mean… this is really not healthy… I must at least try… but what if he returns… Be safe Clark…

21 years old

I can't believe this… he returned… and he didn't contact me… I mean… when I saw that article about him in the paper… there was no doubt in my mind that he was this Superman they keep talking about… And Martha confirmed it… Why didn't he come? … Martha said he asked about me… Why didn't he come then? Why didn't he at least try to contact me? … don't be stupid Lana… he's probably got so many things in his mind now… I mean… according to that article he has already saved so many people… he has a responsibility to the whole world… that's why I love him… he is always thinking of others first… But I just want to see him and speak to him… even for a while…

22 years old

He left again… it's happening all over again… just when I think I should get over him… I can't take this… but what is he thinking? He can't do this alone… he can't cut himself off from the rest of the world… but he was always so stubborn… He hasn't changed one bit… and I still love him for it… but he made it clear… he can't have anyone in his life… so this is it… can I let go of him now? … How do you let go of someone you love… Oh god please keep him safe and help him achieve all he wants…

23 years old

I have so much to do tomorrow… I dread waking up… Roberto was kind enough to offer to help me though… he is always trying to help me out… He is cute… Clark saved a ship full of people today again… he is turning out to be quite the hero… I never doubted it though… Where are you now Clark? I hope he is not feeling lonely…

24 years old

I have to consider their offer very carefully… as much as I hate the fact that Lex set me up with that interview… they are supposedly quite a big deal… and as an interior decorator I'll need all the connections I can find… I mean this is Milan we're talking about… Lex told me that he saw Clark yesterday in Metropolis… that is weird… why would Clark be in Metropolis as Clark… I just hope I didn't sound too surprised on the phone to Lex… I'd hate to cause Lex to be suspicious of Clark… But then again why would he be suspicious… I just hope that as Superman he keeps his distance from cameras and such… it won't be that difficult for people to recognize him, if they know who Clark Kent is… I think I saw him last week standing on top of the building opposite mine… I could be wrong… but then again… keep safe Clark

25 years old

I can't believe this… he is living in Metropolis… living as Clark Kent and he didn't tell me anything about it… I mean… the whole reason behind not being able to be with me was that he couldn't live a normal life… and now even Martha told me that he is living there and working and everything… How could he not tell me anything about it… Was it all lies… or did he change his mind… but if he did why wouldn't he tell me? … I'm so stupid… I'm lying here thinking about Clark Kent when he obviously did the smart thing by moving forward… Argh…. Why is it so hard for me to forget him… not forget him… just stop loving him… because I haven't found anyone who can compare with him… I have to… no… I won't cry … I won't cry again… I refuse to cry… I refuse… … sniff…

26 years old

oh… I'm so tired… (yawn)… I have to do… that… thing… (yawn)… tomorrow… I… I hate you Clark…

27 years old

That was just the worst day ever… Of all the planes in the world ours had to have an engine malfunction so that Superman would have to save us… Brilliant… I tried to avoid him when everyone was running towards him to thank him… but he must have seen me… and then coming over to see me… I mean… the nerve… He didn't even try to deny that he was now with Lois Lane… he has completely forgot about me… and all that crap he said about wanting to be part of my life again… who says I want you in my life Clark Kent… who am I kidding… I don't think I could have him in my life now… I wouldn't be able to handle it seeing him with Lois… Why the hell am I still acting like I'm in high school… I mean I should be able to take it as an adult, forget about him and act as if everything is fine… but I know it's not… I hate him… well… I only hate him cause I still love him… And Clive… he seems nice… he cares about me… why can't I love him… why couldn't I be the one for Clark? Why I am I being so selfish? Why … Clark…

28 years old

sniff … sniff … Married… He's getting married… despite everything that's happened I always believed that somehow in the end we'd end up together… sniff … I guess I was just kidding myself… And he called me about it himself… he is so totally over me… and I'm sitting here like a stupid school girl crying my eyes out… I mean I'm with Clive now… I shouldn't be acting like this… Married… He must really love her then… I didn't want to believe it… but I guess it's true… I couldn't possibly go through with this… I don't think I can handle this… Oh snap out of it Lana… I must behave as adult for once in my life… He was… is my friend and he wants me to be at his wedding… I must be there… it's not like he did me any wrong… he was honest with me at least… well most of the times… Come on Lana you're going to be there and take it like an adult…

A month later…

sniff … Oh God that was the worst experience in my life… Up to the last minute I didn't want to accept it… but it happened and it's true… He seemed so happy… Why can't I be happy for him… I mean he's found the one he wants to spend the rest of his life with… sniff … I should be happy for him… Oh God… I have to accept it… I really have to try and let go of him now… I don't know if I can… sniff … Good bye Clark… I love you…

-----------------------------

32 years old

Martha is sleeping comfortably in her bed and she is dreaming. She is walking back to the farm. Then she sees from afar Clark running around chasing a small boy.

"Jonathan Jr. come back here, your mother will be sad when she sees you didn't finish your food. Your nana will also be very upset."

The little boy just laughed and supersped even further from Clark, giggling excitedly. Clark smiled and chased after him.

Martha approached the house and she saw Lana with Laura in hand coming out from the house. "Boys… don't get all sweaty… we'll have to leave soon…"

Laura giggled and looked up to her mother. "Mom… can I go run with Jonathan and dad…"

Lana smiled and picked up her little daughter. "No, Laura… your brother and your dad will have to take a bath again when they come back… you don't want that do you?"

Laura squinted her little eyes. "No I just had a bath. I'm not a fish…"

Lana laughed and kissed her daughter.

Martha was so happy. Her son had finally the family he deserved. She then entered the house and she saw a familiar figure walking up towards her; Her husband Jonathan.

"Hey princess. I've been waiting for you." He hugged her tightly and kissed her tenderly on the lips. They remained there embraced for ever. Martha felt bliss. Complete and utter bliss. She was finally where she truly belonged; Home.

Martha Kent let her final breath, in her bed. She was smiling blissfully.

To be Continued…


	9. Broken down

Broken Down

They were all gathered there to pay tribute to Martha Kent. Chloe had flown from Gotham with her husband as did Pete from Washington. Lois was also there as was Lex.

Most of Smallville had also gathered to pay tribute to one of its most beloved citizens. Clark was standing motionless and was wearing sunglasses, in the morning sun. Lana was beside him with Laura in her arms, and her eyes were red from crying.

As they lowered her in the ground, Clark who up till then had been seemingly emotionless, felt a single tear rolling down his cheek. He said a whispered good bye to his mother, and turned to leave along with everyone who was gathered there.

As they were preparing to leave, Clark thought he saw a very familiar figure standing in the distance by the trees. A figure who he hadn't seen for quite some time. As he took his glasses off to see better, the man was gone. He thought about going over to check if he saw right, but he just couldn't bother. Even if it was who he thought it was, he couldn't care any less. All that he knew was that he wouldn't see his mother again.

As they were walking along the green grass of the graveyard, Lana who was walking along side him, took hold of his hand and squeezed it supportingly. They walked like this the rest of the way.

They were all gathered at the Talon afterwards, the place that Martha had associated herself with during the last decade of her life. Clark was sitting near the counter, with Chloe, Pitt, Lois and Lana sitting all around him. Lex approached them, with two massive bodyguards around him. They all became somewhat nervous with his presence and especially Lois, who was extremely vocal about her disapproving of Lex in her articles in the Daily Planet.

"Oh look the monster is sentimental… " she commented loudly as Lex approached. He looked at her with obvious distaste.

Clark just shot her a sideway glance. "Lois please don't start… not now…"

"Sometimes I just don't get you Clark... " said Lois obviously annoyed. "If you'll excuse me… I'm suddenly a bit allergic to the company." She stated as she got up and walked away from them.

Lex sighed. "Clark… I just wanted you to know that despite not quite seeing eye to eye and often being on the opposite sides, I cared about your mother. She was one of the few people to ever treat me as a human being and not as a Luthor. I will always remember her for that. There aren't enough people in the world like Martha. I'm sorry for your loss." He said simply and then before he left he turned to Lana. "Lana… could I speak to you for a while…"

Lana hesitantly and looking a bit uncomfortable, got up and walked with Lex. During the years, although they were hardly considered friends, Lex always learnt of Lana's news and tried to help her in any way he could –like he did with her first job-. Lana appreciated that but still felt somewhat weird around Lex Luthor.

Chloe and Pitt were left alone with Clark.

"Clark… what are you going to do now? Are you staying in Smallville or are you going back to Metropolis?" asked Pitt.

"I really don't know Pitt. To tell you the truth I can't go back to Metropolis right now…" said Clark with a heavy voice.

"But what about the whole Superman thing?" asked Chloe whispering. "How are you going to pull that off?"

Clark remained silent and closed his eyes. "You know something Chloe… I'm sick of Superman… I'm utterly sick of it… I'm sick of people constantly looking up to me for inspiration… I'm sick of always trying to be perfect and doing what's best for others… I'm sick of Superman dictating my life… of what I can and can't do… Superman destroyed my marriage… Superman was the reason for my absence when my father died… Superman made me abandon my mother when she needed me most… And because of Superman I had to leave behind the love of my life and hurt her in more ways than I could ever imagine… He destroyed my life and any chance I had for a future!" Clark yelled the last part and he got up from his chair and stormed out of the Talon through the back door.

Chloe and Pitt were left there looking in disbelief. Lois from a table in the corner looked on with sadness in her eyes, but also with understanding. She figured out what the outburst was about, since she had some idea of what was going through Clark's mind the last year.

Lana who was sitting at another table with Lex, when she saw Clark's outburst, she got up from her seat worried and made to go after him. Lex though stopped her by grabbing her hand.

"Lana please let him cool off." Said Lex softly.

"Lex I've got to go…" said Lana with determination.

"Please just give me one minute. It's about Clark"

Lana sighed and sat down again in her seat. "Listen to me… I know Clark thinks we are enemies of sorts, and that I am some kind of tyrant who has lost all ability to feel… but the truth is… I still care about certain people… Clark is certainly one of them… Despite our shortcomings, I still don't like seeing him in this situation. From what I've heard, his divorce has left him kind of a mess… And now this… It's not easy for anyone, going through what Clark is now… so I want to tell you something… I know you still love him…"

Lana widened her eyes and tried to protest, but Lex kept on talking. "It's painted in your face Lana. In the way you look at him, in your body when you're sitting close to him, in your reactions… What I'm trying to say is… If you truly love him… help him out… help him sort out his head. If anyone can get to Clark it certainly is you… It has always been you… I know that much about Clark… and if he finally sees the light… tell him… that I have an offer for him… I want to put aside the past and make a fresh start with Clark… It's for both our sakes…"

Lana remained silent looking at him not sure what to make of everything Lex told her. "Why the sudden interest in Clark Lex?"

Lex smiled. "I have big plans for Clark and me Lana." With that he got up picked Lana's hand and kissed the back of it. "Lana… always a pleasure."

Lex turned around and left the Talon. Lana remained there for a while perplexed with what Lex meant. He seemed very honest to her, but she still felt weird.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she got up and hurried to the Talon's back door. She just hoped he was still there. As she got out, she saw that the back alley was empty. _Damn… he could be miles away by now… Where are you Clark?_

To be continued…


	10. What's it like

What's it like

Lana reentered the Talon and went to Pete, Chloe and Lois.

"He left…"

"Should we go look for him?" asked Chloe with concern in her voice.

"He could be anywhere in the world by now." Said Pete whispering. It was weird for all of them, because they hadn't been all together before, talking about Clark. They were for all they knew, the only people in the world who knew Clark Kent's secret and each of them knew of the others' knowledge. But they had never spoken about it together.

"Clark just needs to cool off on his own right now. Seeing us, would probably make things worse." Offered Lois. "Don't worry… he has been like that for some time now and he always needs to cool off a bit… besides it's Clark… he can certainly take care of himself" she added with a supportive smile. "Lana can I speak to you?" she asked turning to Lana.

Lana who was lost in thought about the whereabouts of Clark, snapped back to reality. "What?"

"Can we talk for a while?" asked Lois again.

Lana was surprised. She had never talked to Lois alone. She was the one who mostly avoided something like that, as after Lois's wedding to Clark, Lana couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed by Lois. "Sure…" she said a bit hesitantly.

They got further away from Chloe and Pete and sat comfortably in a somewhat remote table. "Will you have something?" asked Lois.

"Lois I don't think now is the best time to chat and drink, shouldn't we try and find Clark?" asked Lana a bit annoyed with Lois's seeming nonchalant attitude.

"Yes you should… but first we've got to talk. We have to clean some air between us, and to do that I need a drink." She waved at the waitress and ordered a beer.

Lana was looking at her a bit uneasy. She wasn't sure she wanted to have a conversation with Lois.

Lois remained silent and thoughtful for a while.

"So…?" asked Lana impatiently.

"I'm trying to think where to begin." Said Lois keeping her eyes lowered to the table. Then she suddenly looked up. "Ok… I know you don't like me a lot… but I feel it is a bit unfair or at least for the wrong reasons."

Lois paused for a while trying to collect her thoughts. "When I first saw Clark again in the Daily Planet after so many years, nothing had changed for me in regards to Clark. He just seemed so depressed for some reason, that I started paying more attention to him and hanging out with him, to try and make him feel better."

"Is there a point to all this Lois?" asked Lana a bit annoyed, as she wasn't that keen on hearing about how Lois and Clark fell in love.

"Yes. You have to hear this. Even though he never admitted it to me, I'm certain that the reason he was so depressed when he came to Metropolis was you. From what I remembered and knew about Clark, you were the only person who could really get to him THAT seriously. Now I don't know why it was you, or what had happened, and to tell you the truth I don't really want to know.

After some months of hanging out with me, I noticed Clark started to see me differently. He started being extra nice and tried to flirt with me on several occasions. I just didn't see him that way. You see I had an infatuation of my own, much like Clark; Superman. I was one of the few people on this planet who were THAT stupid, to have met both of them and not see that they were the same person."

Lana chuckled lightly at the thought as she always thought that something like this wasn't possible.

"In my defense though, I had a preconception of who Clark was and what he could do, and I just never thought him capable of the things Superman was doing. The thing is that Clark knew very well of my infatuation with Superman, and on some level I think the poor guy revealed himself to me, for that reason. At the time of course I was slowly starting to piece certain pieces together, I just didn't have the whole picture. So when I cornered him about certain stuff that had happened he told me.

You know how Chloe and Pete found out about him right? Which officially makes you the only person Clark ever told his secret willingly and without being pressured."

"Lois why are you telling me this?"

"Because I need you to understand something. I fell in love with Clark eventually… or at least I thought I did… I don't know for sure any more… but at the time of our marriage I was certain I was in love with him. And that made it even harder for me to accept that I was sharing him. And even though he never admitted it, I knew I shared him."

"What did you expect Lois? You were marrying Superman for God's sake."

Lois chuckled. "Oh I was very aware of that Lana. I'm not talking about sharing him with the world. I'm talking about sharing him with you."

Lana widened her eyes in surprise. "What? That's ridiculous Lois. I had a purely friendly – and limited at that- relationship with Clark during your marriage."

"But Lana that's the thing… You didn't even have to be there… I was constantly competing with this perfect vision Clark has in his mind when it comes to you. You were his first love, you were his first ever and then he was forced to leave you. You didn't break up or anything. Clark still feels as if that chance (to be with you) was stolen from him. Even though he never admitted it to me, he never had the closure he needed with you to fully put you behind him, although I must give him the credit of trying."

Lana felt her heartbeat quicken up its pace. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. And from Lois for that matter.

"But the fact of the matter is that he never stopped loving you Lana. I mean he never talked about you to me. Whenever I enquired about you he always told me the basics. He never opened his heart to me on the subject of Lana Lang, whereas he always did that on the subjects of Lex Luthor or his parents, or his friends. You were always the one subject that was off limits for me. I just couldn't compete with you Lana. I was nothing like you, or at least the image he had of you. And yes that's probably one of the reasons he was attracted to me in the first place, because I am how I am… but I could never measure up to Lana Lang in his mind."

Lana remained looking at Lois with a shocked expression on her face. She had no idea that Lois felt that way, but she was having a hard time accepting, that what she was saying about Clark was true. _If this is true why did he marry Lois? Why didn't he come to me all those years? Damn you Clark… I don't want to go through this again._

Her inner conflict soon got the best of her, and the first tears made their appearance on her beautiful face.

As she quickly wiped the tears with the back of her hand she spoke to Lois. "I think you are wrong Lois. If what you say is true and not just the way you chose to see things, why would he marry you?"

"Ok… let me ask you this… Why did you marry Clive?" said Lois looking at Lana intently. "And please don't insult me by saying you loved him. It's more than obvious that you love Clark and to tell you the truth the few times that we were together, I could tell that you still loved him."

Lana remained silent, she could very easily lie, but she was tired of it. And she saw no point into entering an argument with Lois, when she knew she was right.

"I'll take the silence and that troubled look as a confirmation. Now… mind you… I'm not saying that Clark didn't love me… but it was not the same… He was trying to get past you –don't ask me why, but that's what he was trying to do- and as it turned out he was unsuccessful. He cared about me a lot and he still does, he might also have been in love with me at a point, it's just… well I don't know how else to put it… it wasn't the same. You were his ideal… I was more of a compromise… in his attempt to live in the real world… Now… he never told me enough about you to know what happened to make him believe he could not be with you… but… hey… it's Clark Kent we're talking about… When it came to you… his mind, for some reason, turned into an incoherent jumble… and I've known that since my time in Smallville."

Lana for some reason couldn't stop the tears coming to her eyes. She wasn't sure why she was tearing up, but her immediacy of finding Clark became greater by the second.

"As I can see it is still a very delicate matter for you, so I'll finish up by saying one more thing. I care about Clark a lot. Enough to know that I can't help him in the state he is in right now. Only you can help him and I know you want to. You love him, so I would advise you to leave behind what grudge you may or may not hold against him, or… I don't know… but it's obvious that you both are trying to suppress your feelings for some reason that I can't even begin to understand… Don't make things harder for you and him… anyways… that's all I had to say… Please if you find him, tell him to contact me once he has sorted out his mind… It's about the DP… he'll know…"

With that Lois got up and prepared to leave. "Oh by the way Lana, you have a very beautiful daughter, she looks just like you. Take good care of them both."

Lois winked at Lana and left.

Lana remained seated unable to move or think straight. Should she go look for Clark immediately? And if she found him… What then?

To be continued…


	11. From the Ashes

From the ashes

Clark walked slowly towards the grave of his mother. Darkness had slowly started to descend on Smallville. As Clark approached his mother's resting place, he saw a figure kneeling in front of her grave. He was an old guy probably in his late 60s early 70s.

"Hello?" asked Clark curiously.

"Hello Clark." Said the man slowly rising, and turning to face him.

Clark then recognized that it was the same guy he had seen that morning standing by a tree in the distance. A man who everyone thought was dead. A man he used to know and fear. Lionel Luthor.

"Mr. Luthor… What are you doing here?" asked Clark surprised.

Lionel chuckled. "Mr. Luthor? … I must be really getting too old then. I came to pay my respects to your mother Clark, plus I wanted to see and talk to you."

"I… everyone thinks you're dead. Even Lex!" said Clark still not sure how to react to Lionel's presence.

"Well I'm glad they think so. That's what I want them to believe Clark. But come, I have much to tell you. Sit with me here for a moment Clark."

Lionel walked with effort, but still with a pride and dignity, that were always central to his character. He sat at a bench near Martha's grave and Clark joined him hesitantly. He didn't know if he could trust Lionel or what to expect from him, but his age made him seem more harmless.

"You probably know this first hand Clark, but I want to say it… Your mother was a very special woman… Such kindness, such class, such strength and such dignity, are very rare in a woman. Our mother was all that and more." He paused for a while and drifted off for a while. "You know… when your father died and she was thinking of selling the farm, it was one of the few times I contacted someone in Smallville. I offered to help her keep the farm financially. She turned me down of course -not that I had any delusions that she would accept my offer- but I just felt like I had to do it. And she was always so considerate… even when she was turning you down, she tried to make it as easy for you as possible… Amazing woman…"

"I know who my mother was Lionel." Said Clark who wasn't exactly thrilled by hearing a man like Lionel talk about his mother.

"Back to first names? Heh… I guess you didn't appreciate me talking about your mother eh?" said Lionel with a crooked smile.

"You guess right… Now tell me what you want Lionel…" said Clark who was not in the best of moods to be humoring people who once upon a time tried to harm him.

"There's no need to get all ruffled up Clark…" said Lionel calmly.

"Look Lionel, I'm not in the best of moods lately… so…" said Clark before he got interrupted by Lionel.

"Something to do with the divorce? Or is it the ever radiant miss Lang that has got you in such a mood?"

Clark was shocked, he tried hard to resist the urge of grabbing Lionel and forcing him to come clean on where he got the information about him. "How do you know this stuff about me?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Clark… please do not consider me your enemy… In fact I did my best to help you and your mother over the years…" said Lionel defensively afraid of what Clark might do if he lost his temper.

"Helped me and my mother? What the hell are you talking about?" asked Clark irritated.

"How did you get the job on the daily planet? Have you wondered why they called you back for an interview after they had rejected you at first?"

Clark froze. "How did… I… I thought Chloe put in a good word for me."

"Oh that she did… But do you really think that the word of Chloe Sullivan holds that much weight? I was the one who arranged it. And why do you think Lex could not buy the daily planet up till now? I was the major share holder of the Daily planet. Not directly of course, since the many shares in my possession are listed into several different organizations across the globe. Your rise in status in the Daily Planet… your promotions… Now don't get me wrong… it's not that you didn't deserve it… but if we had waited for that to happen through the proper channels… let's just say your mother wouldn't have that beautiful house you bought her during the last years of her life. She also wouldn't have The Talon to take care of." Concluded Lionel with a sad smile.

Clark was dumbfounded. He didn't know what to think or say. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"Come on Clark… I can of course show you all the papers and mail that have passed from my hands over the years, but you are a smart kid… you know I'm telling the truth."

Clark remained thoughtful. Lionel obviously knew a lot about him, that under normal circumstances he shouldn't have. It was obvious that he was telling the truth… about most of it anyway. "Ok… Let's say I believe you… Why then? Why did you go through all this trouble for me?"

"I know about you Clark…" said Lionel smiling.

Clark looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean?"

Lionel just smiled. "Wooosh…" he said as he did with his hand a flying upwards move.

To be continued…


	12. Numb

**Numb**

Clark looked at Lionel shocked. _Oh my God! He knows, he can't be bluffing! He made a flying motion. He knows I'm Superman, or maybe he's not certain yet._

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" asked Clark trying to maintain his composure.

Lionel smiled. "Oh come on Clark… I've suspected there was something different about you, ever since that day I went into your body and then later on I was all of a sudden healthy again. But the day of the second meteor shower, I possessed one of the stones, when it suddenly started glowing and the next thing I know, I'm seeing visions, blurry and mixed up visions, of what is to pass. I knew right then and there that you were the chosen one. Later on when Superman appeared, it wasn't that hard to put it all together. … But Clark… don't worry. I haven't betrayed your secret for so many years, I don't plan on doing it now."

Clark remained silent, he tried to think what were his options now, but most of all what it was that Lionel wanted from him. "So… what do you want from me Lionel? I mean why come back after all these years? What is it you want?"

Lionel looked at Clark with a hint of sadness. "What every parent wants Clark. I want you to save my son."

--------------------------------

Lana held Laura in her hands, who was almost asleep already.

"So should we go look for him?" asked Chloe.

"I will go look for him Chloe. I will give you the keys to my house. You are my guests tonight." Said Lana. "But please could you please take Laura and put her to sleep?"

"Sure thing Lana… Are you sure you don't want Pete or myself to come?" asked Chloe again with concern in her voice.

"Yeah… I think I can help him better, if I'm by myself… We'll see…"

------------------------------

"Save Lex? What makes you think that Lex needs saving Lionel?" asked Clark perplexed.

"He's spiraling out of control Clark. All this power gathered on one man is just not natural. He can't handle it. If you think he was bad up to now… it's only going to get much worse. He is becoming delusional. If he keeps this up, he will destroy himself. That's why I want you to save him Clark."

Clark looked annoyed and tried hard to maintain his cool. "Lionel I have dedicated my entire life helping others, looking after others who can't look after themselves, and do you know what I go in return? A ton of heartache and my life a mess. And now you come and ask me to help someone who has continually shown disregard for other people's lives? Even if you do mean well, and you did help me all those years, I just can't deal with this now Lionel… Please go…"

Lionel looked surprised. He didn't expect this reaction from Clark. "But Clark… How can you say no? It's who you are, it's what you do…" said Lionel pleadingly.

"I said go Lionel. My mother just died. At least respect that!" said Clark a bit more angrily.

Lionel saw that there was nothing more he could do to persuade Clark, so he thought he'd let it pass for now. He got up and prepared to leave. He then turned around and looked at Clark.

"Do you think your parents would be proud of their son now?" asked Lionel with bitterness.

Clark lost it, he got up and grabbed Lionel by his shoulders. "Don't you mention my parents again! You are the last person to speak about parental matters…"

Then Clark before he had a chance to say anything else, heard a voice from behind him, "Clark!" It was Lana who ran towards them. "Clark what's going on?"

Clark snapped out of it and let go of Lionel who was a bit shaken. "Hello Miss Lang." he said when Lana approached them.

Lana couldn't believe her eyes. "Mr. Luthor? You are alive?"

"Well… for now… Miss Lang… But I'd better go… Mr. Kent could fill you in on the rest if you want." He said with a light smile. Then he turned to Clark. "I'm sorry Clark… But I do need your help… I hope you change your mind…" said Lionel before turning around and leaving.

Lana remained silent and looked at Clark who still had his back turned to her and looked downwards. He felt the sting of shame, for losing his temper and almost manhandling a 60 year old man and what's even worse, Lana saw him like that.

He sighed with frustration and sat down on the grass in front of his mother grave. Lana slowly walked to him and sat beside him on the grass.

She didn't say anything just sat there and at one point she reached her hand and placed it on top of his as she squeezed it supportingly. That was one of the reasons Clark was always in love with her. She always tried not to pressure him. Like now… There were probably a million questions in her head but she didn't say anything. She was just there for him to lean upon.

Clark couldn't keep his cool anymore. As he started crying he leaned his head on Lana's shoulder. Lana who was taken aback by this, and still felt a bit uncomfortable around Clark, managed to keep it under check, and she pulled him into a warm embrace as he started crying even harder. As she held him her heart started to ache for him. It was obvious that he was not in a good place right now, and Lois was probably right. He needed her and she was determined to help him, even if that meant having to deal with all the issues she had, concerning their relationship and Clark leaving her behind.

As Clark let it all out, crying unabashedly in Lana's arms, she stroked his hair and whispered to him soothing words. They remained like this even after Clark had finished crying. It felt great for him to draw from her strength and he remembered all those times in the past years, when he couldn't imagine his life without Lana Lang. He was just glad he didn't have to know what that would be like.

To be Continued…


	13. This kind of lonely

This kind of Lonely

Clark woke up the next morning feeling… mixed up. He was still quite distraught with everything that had happened, he was confused and torn by what Lionel had told him, but for the first time in quite a long while he also felt a slight glimmer of hope.

Despite everything that had happened between them, despite all the mistakes he had made and how she must have felt, Lana Lang was there when he needed her yesterday, making him feel even for a while, that he wasn't carrying all the burdens in his life by himself. Was he still in love with her? As he sat on his bed contemplating the question, another question popped in his mind. Was there ever any doubt that he would always love her? He remembered all that his mother had told him about her the previous day, but when his mother came to his mind, his eyes became wet again. He already missed her. The only thing that made it somewhat easier for him, was the certainty he felt that somehow his parents had reunited wherever they were.

He got out of bed slowly and tried to think what he would do? Should he go back to the Daily Planet? Should he move back to Metropolis? The fact of the matter was, he still hadn't done what he came here to do; which was to sort out his head. If it was even possible his mind was even more of a mess right now. The only thing he was certain of at the moment was Lana. He had to see her again.

--------------------------------

Lana went down to her kitchen to prepare breakfast for Laura and found Chloe already there in her kitchen drinking coffee. "Morning."

"Chloe… you should have waited I was about to prepare breakfast for everyone." Said Lana smiling. It felt like old times with Chloe and Pete in her house. Even if it was only for a day.

"No offense Lana, but if I don't make my own coffee in the morning, exactly as I want it, my day goes off straight to hell from then on. Besides I don't have that much time. Pete and I are leaving for Metropolis as soon as we can. But first… let's talk… we haven't done that in a long time…" said Chloe with a wink.

"Ok… wait till I prepare Laura's breakfast, and then we can sit and talk."

"Oh… by the way… Laura… she is the cutest most adorable thing I have ever seen… and she is so well behaved… she even says "pwease" and "sank you" or something to that effect anyway…" said Chloe with a big smile on her face.

Lana chuckled lightly. "She is an angel… I really have no complaints whatsoever from her… the only thing that's a bit worrying is that she is incredibly shy and she scares easily…"

"I believe that's something that will slowly change with time… Besides you weren't the most social of people till you got in the cheerleader squad…" said Chloe with a chuckle.

Lana looked at Chloe quizzically. "Really? … You think so? …"

Chloe chuckled. "Oh come on Lana… in class no one could hear a pip from you unless a teacher asked you something… I mean… I bet Martha will have already told you that Laura reminds her of how you were at that age."

With the mention of Martha, the mood darkened a bit in the room. Lana looked downwards. "Yeah… she has…"

Chloe bit her lip. She knew how close Martha and Lana had been over the years and she silently cursed herself for bringing this up. Now that she had though, she thought that she could move forward to the serious issues. "So… how did it go last night?" she asked with concern.

Lana fidgeted a bit uncomfortably as she turned to continue preparing Laura's breakfast. "Well… it was weird…"

"Is he alright?"

"When I found him last night, he was a mess… but later on when we parted… he seemed somewhat more calm…"

"Lana Lang did her magic again…" said Chloe with a light smile.

"Believe me Chloe I did nothing…"

"Well you must have done something… If you say he was calm… do you remember how he stormed out on us… By the way… how did you find him?"

"Well… I first went to his old farm house, thinking that he might have gone there… but then I realized that the place he would go if upset, was his parents… much like I did the years past. And something else very weird happened. You won't believe who was there with him."

"Lex?" asked Chloe with uncertainty.

"No… It was Lionel Luthor."

Chloe widened her eyes in surprise. "Lionel? But… how can that be… everyone thought he was dead."

"I know… that's what I'd heard… but believe me… he is not. The thing is that when I got there, Clark was very angry about something and he had grabbed him violently. Now I didn't ask him what that was all about… but when I saw him like that, I got to tell you… I was scared…"

"Oh my God! ... What does that mean… I got to find out… this could be huge… Lionel alive…"

"Chloe please… Don't mention it to anyone… I don't know what happened there and I don't know what they said with Clark… so I think it would be best if we kept this to ourselves… at least until Clark clarifies the situation…"

Chloe remained silent for a while. "You're right… sorry… reporter's instinct… got carried away for a while… Don't worry… I won't mention it to anybody…"

As Lana finished preparing Laura's breakfast, she made a coffee for herself and sat down with Chloe. "So… where's Pete?"

"He went to see Clark before we left… so… how are you feeling?" asked Chloe a bit hesitantly.

"I'll be fine… Martha's passing was quite a blow… but I don't have the luxury of breaking down…" said Lana with a weak smile. "I don't think Martha would appreciate it either… I got to think of Laura… but sometimes it just seems so … hard… I don't know why…" said Lana with a troubled look.

Chloe looked at her sympathetically. "Lana… of course it would be hard… you're trying to raise a kid by yourself… it's a tough thing to do… but if there's one person I'm sure can do it, that's you honey…" said Chloe smiling supportively at Lana.

Lana smiled back. "Thanks Chloe… but ever since Clark got here… I've had an even harder time concentrating. All the feelings and frustrations I was trying to keep in check for so many years, resurfaced… and now with him being divorced and so sad and lonely … I… I don't know if I can be there for him and still keep it together myself…" said Lana trying hard to keep her feelings under control.

"I'm sure you'll find your way Lana… You both will."

To be Continued…

Thank you guys for your wonderful comments. I hope that these two chapters will be as good. :-)


	14. Slipped away

Slipped away

Pete sat in his friend's living room with coffee in hand. "So… did you cool off since last night?"

Clark sat beside him in the couch. "Yeah… sorry about that… I didn't mean to burst out at you guys…"

"Hey… don't apologize… there's too much stuff going on in your life… you of all people are entitled to blow off some steam… I mean… I can't possibly imagine what it must be like to be you Clark… and sorry to say… I'm glad I'll never know…" said Pete with a light smile.

"To tell you the truth… I too wish I never knew…" said Clark dejected.

"Clark come on you don't mean that…"

"Why not Pete? Because I have to be perfect for everyone else? Because I have to be a symbol? I want to at least have a remote semblance of life Pete! Something to make me feel like I'm not doing this alone and for nothing…"

"Look Clark… I have to admit that we're partly to blame for this… I mean we were the only people who knew your secret and we all just drifted apart…"

"No! For God's sake Pete. I'm not blaming you or Chloe… I mean… you have your lives to live… you mustn't be a slave of this secret I placed on you…"

"That's not the point Clark… you have to know that whatever is going on you still can count on me for help, whenever you need it. Please don't hesitate to lean on us for help Clark. I mean… come on… you help the world… it's only fair that you have someone to help you occasionally."

Clark smiled… "Thanks buddy."

"No prob. Now risking having a major deja-vu, I'll ask… What's going on with Lana?"

Clark looked down. "I'm not sure Pete… I mean…it's too complicated…"

"Clark… these things… are never as complicated as you make them out to be… you always had a talent in finding complications in such matters, especially when Lana was concerned… I was always wondering why you did it?"

Clark smiled weakly. "Maybe… but don't forget what you said Pete… you can never know what it's like being me… so…"

"Ok… ok… point taken… But tell me… What exactly do you find complicated this time?"

"Well… for starters… I don't know how I feel about her…" said Clark

Pete looked at him, with obvious sarcasm in his face. "Yeah right… and Satan just called me to ask for skiing equipment…"

"What? How can you be so certain when even I don't know what to think…" said Clark defensively.

"Clark come on… this is Lana we're talking about… As long as you both live, there's always going to be love … -and tension apparently-… between you."

"Maybe you're right… But Pete… I've hurt her so much… And not just once… I hurt her over and over again… when all I was trying to do was protect her and make sure she was happy… and a fine job I did at that…" said Clark sighing with frustration.

"I mean… I personally invited her to my wedding… while I wasn't completely over her, thinking that if I saw her there, I could finally close that chapter of my life… and what happened? … I saw her there, I felt miserable for putting her through that and I actually had a crappy time at my own wedding… What the hell was I on?" yelled Clark with frustration.

"But Clark… you never told me… why did you decide you wanted to put her behind you in the first place?" asked Pete.

Clark sighed. "I did it for her own good… at least that's what I thought."

------------------------------

24 years old

Clark was flying towards Milan. He was feeling excited and terrified at the same time. After spending almost 4 years living alone and secluded from the world, he saw that he couldn't go on like that. He was feeling miserable and after some long talks with his mother, he decided that it was about time he once more became a part of human society. He was going to start his life in Metropolis. What he would do exactly he wasn't sure, but he knew who would be the first person to know about his decision.

As he landed near her apartment, he quickly changed to his normal clothes and went up the flight of stairs as quickly as he could. He knocked on her door. He didn't call her as he wanted it to be a surprise. His mother had confirmed to him, that every time Lana called, he was the main subject of conversation, which of course convinced him that she hadn't forgotten him.

No answer came, and he considered going all over Milan looking for her, but then he decided to stay and wait for her. He went to the apartment opposite hers –much like he had done all the other times he had visited her- and patiently waited. After a couple of hours, he saw her returning, but Clark's heart fell. She wasn't alone. She was walking hand in hand with another guy, and she was smiling. She seemed happy. Clark berated himself for thinking that she would have waited for him for so long. He was at a loss. He didn't know what to do.

_Should I at least go talk to her? But what good will that do? She has moved on, and it's good for her she did so… besides… the fact that I'll be living in Metropolis doesn't change things that much. It's still dangerous to be around me and it's not fair to her to live such a life… Maybe it's for the best that she found someone to move on… But I love her… Can I live my life without her… Not have her in my life at all? … I don't think I can do that… But maybe with time, when I'm more settled in my life… we could at least be friends… This thing is a curse… what other sacrifices will I have to do? I mean… she's the only good thing in my life… and I have to leave it? _

_Face it Clark… she is better off without you… besides if she saw me now… I would only mess her up even more… she seems happy right now… it would be selfish of me to take that away from her… I must do this for her… I must let her go…_

_Goodbye Lana… I hope I see you in the future… I'll always love you…_

With that Clark took off in the night Milan sky.

Lana thought she saw something flying off in the sky with the corner of her eye, and as she turned to look, she sent a silent prayer to Clark.

To be Continued…


	15. Start Something

**Start Something**

Clark was at his apartment. He was laying on the sofa, with the television on, but he didn't pay much attention. He was thinking of everything that had happened and he couldn't find the peace he was always so desperately looking for. His mother had passed away, Lionel had come "back from the dead" to ask him to help Lex, he was getting increasingly tired of Superman, and he was once again in the very familiar position of gradually feeling more and more in love with Lana Lang.

As Pete had told him before, he had to admit that he never stopped loving her, his life was just so packed when he was in Metropolis, that it kind of just lay dormant for a while. But still every time he talked to her or saw her, his heart grew heavy, like his breathing and his stomach was in a constant knot, that he could never untie.

_It's all Superman's fault… God I can't stand this any more… How much longer will I have to be a spectator in my own life… The irony in all this is that the same thing that's the reason for my physical invulnerability, has almost crippled my spirit… _

"…Police are not sure what was the cause of this explosion, but the reality is that the dead are thought to exceed 50 people… there are also a lot of people still trapped under the rubble of this Luthorcorp factory here in Ohio and the rescue teams are doing everything they can to get to them…" said the NBC reporter on the news, but Clark was lost deep in thought.

_How can I keep doing what I'm doing when my life is such a mess… How can I keep this perfect façade when my head and heart are in constant pain… Aaaargh… Screw Superman… Why should I be responsible for saving an entire planet when I can't even seem to save myself…_

_--------------------------------------_

Lana was at her place with Laura watching cartoons. As Laura was giggling non-stop next to her, Lana's mind was miles away. _I have to find a job… The money I had on the side are rapidly running out… should we go to Metropolis? Lex sounded serious on the phone when he offered to put me in charge of redecorating the entire Luthorcorp plaza. I mean… that will be huge… I've never done anything in such a scale in the past… But I really hoped Laura could grow up in Smallville… face it Lana you can't do your job here in Smallville… and Clark… I hope he is ok… Before he left, Pete told me that he wasn't in such a great shape… maybe I should see him… But do I really want to get into all this grief again? … Maybe it **will** be different this time… Maybe he won't turn away… and he sure looks like he needs me… but Laura also needs me… I can handle it, can't I? Maybe I will invite him for lunch today… maybe it will help him cheer up…_

Lana felt Laura's little hands tug at her shirt. She looked down at her little daughter smiling. Laura pointed at the TV smiling. "C'ark… C'ark… " she said as she pointed at the TV.

Lana looked at the TV curiously and was shocked to see an old report they were running in the news about Superman. They were showing footage of one of the few times that they had caught Superman on camera, saying a few quick words to the people there and then flying away. She looked at her daughter shocked but smiling. "How… How did you…" Lana laughed, still shocked, as she saw her daughter laugh happily clapping her hands. Lana chuckled at the irony of how easy it was for a child to know it was Clark. A child wouldn't understand the distinction between Superman and Clark the meek reporter of the Daily Planet, and therefore could see straight through the confident look and the costume.

------------------------

Later that morning.

Lana picked up the phone and dialed Martha's number. The phone kept on ringing but no one seemed to answer. _Damn… he must have left the house… But … that's good… it means that he's already feeling better… I really wanted to see him though… snap out of it Lana… you were doing this to help him out, not to see him… Should I call him on the mobile, to invite him over, or would that be too forward… Oh come on… what am I talking about? I've known him for years…_

Lana picked up the phone and dialed Clark's mobile. Again no one answered. Now she was starting to worry. _Why doesn't he answer? Maybe he is in the middle of saving people… He wouldn't stop to answer a phone call… Or maybe he saw my number and didn't answer… But that's ridiculous… why wouldn't he answer me? Yesterday he was saying he needed me and today he's not answering my calls? Not even Clark can change his mind THAT quickly…I hope he is ok… But it's Clark… what could possibly happen to him? … Maybe I should go check Marta's house… But if he's there and didn't pick up the phone, maybe he doesn't want to talk to anybody… well… if that's the case then he is definitely not alright so I should probably see him… ok… I'm going over…_

_--------------------------------------_

Clark was still laying on the sofa. He had a blank stare as he was looking at the wall. He snapped back to reality when he heard the door bell. He looked at his watch and saw that it was already 1 p.m.

_I have been laying here for almost 3 hours now… who could it be? Lana…? …Nah… why would she come here…_

He got up slowly and walked to the door. When he opened it he couldn't help but smile genuinely, as he saw two beautiful smiling faces looking back at him.

"C'ark" said Laura pointing at Clark as Lana held her in her arms.

Lana smiled as Clark looked at Laura smiling surprised. "Hey" said Lana warmly.

"Did she just… How did…" mumbled Clark.

"She said it today for the first time said Lana smiling. "But you won't believe when she said it."

Clark snapped back and invited them in. "Hey, don't stand there come in… Sorry though about the place… I… I… didn't have time…"

"It's ok Clark. We won't tell anyone, won't we Laura?"

Laura looked at her mother and shook her head no, smiling. Lana walked in to the kitchen and placed on top of the table a bag she carried.

"I didn't feel like cooking today, so we went and got take-away… and… since we were in… the neighborhood… we thought we'd bring you some." She said smiling.

"Uh… thanks… I kinda dozed off and didn't realize it was already noon. I would have gotten out myself if you hadn't come."

"I hope you still like Italian." asked Lana looking a bit unsure at Clark.

Clark just smiled. "Yeah thanks… Uh… I wish I had something to offer you but…"

"Hey don't worry. Today is lazy day for us too. Laura here didn't even want to take a bath." Said Lana trying to sound strict to Laura but failing miserably, as she started laughing when she saw her reaction.

"bath yeshtday…no fish" she said looking up at Lana with wide pleading eyes.

Clark burst out laughing. "Did she say she's not a fish?"

"well… yeah… she's been using that ever since she saw a cartoon with fish, and I stupidly tried to show her how good taking a bath is, since fish are doing it all the time." Said Lana still chuckling.

"Ooh… what a backfire…" mused Clark.

"Tell me about it."

Lana started preparing lunch for the three of them. _Hmm… this is good… it doesn't feel weird or awkward… yet… and we seem to have cheered him up a bit… But he looks so awful… Poor Clark… I can only imagine what is going through his head…_

"Just before when Laura said my name, you said that I wouldn't believe when she said it for the first time. So when was it?"

"We were sitting in the couch watching TV and I was kinda lost in thought about stuff… and then I felt her tugging at my shirt saying "C'ark C'ark" as she pointed at the TV. Can you guess who they were showing?"

Clark remained thoughtful. "On the TV? …saying my name… but I've never been on…" then realization dawned on him. "… you mean… Superman?"

Lana nodded her head smiling.

"But… how can she… Oh God… I knew I wouldn't fool anybody with that…" said Clark slapping his forehead.

"yeah but you had fooled Lois…" offered Lana before cursing herself for mentioning her.

"Yeah…" said Clark with a downcast look.

_Stupid! Stupid! What's wrong with you? Why on earth would you mention Lois to him now? Aargh…_

"Um… sorry about that…" said Lana biting her lip.

"No… No… It's ok… I mean… it's not like I haven't gotten over her… or anything…" said Clark a bit clumsily and overenthusiastically.

Lana looked at him perplexed by his reaction. "Oh… um… ok…"

"Yeah… it's just that… with everything that's been going on… you know…" said Clark awkwardly.

"Yeah… you're right… I understand…" said Lana. _Yeah… this is definitely getting awkward._

To be Continued…


	16. Broken Words

Broken Words

After they had finished lunch, Laura sat comfortably in the sofa and fell asleep watching cartoons, while Lana and Clark were cleaning the dishes.

"I don't understand why we have to go at such a slow pace… I told you I could have them cleaned in seconds…" complained Clark.

"And I told you I wanted to help, and no powers… Besides I don't want Laura seeing you by accident and freaking out…" said Lana smiling.

Clark sighed. "I guess you're right… I'll go check up on her…"

Clark approached the sofa and saw that Laura was sleeping. She looked like an angel, and just by looking at her Clark couldn't help but smile. 

_She looks so peaceful… and so beautiful… just like her mother… I could have had all this dammit… I should have… Well… at least she had found someone who could give her what I couldn't… but… what am I talking about… He abandoned them… that bastard… I hate people who don't realize and recognize how lucky and blessed they are… I mean imagine… having someone like Lana as your wife and having a child with her… and then leaving them… well… if I'm going to be honest I also left her… but I did it for her own good… and much good it did her… on the other hand she wouldn't have Laura now… or Laura could have been mine… Argh… what the hell am I thinking… Get serious Clark…_

He snapped back when he heard Lana's voice from behind him.

"Penny for your thoughts…" she said softly.

Clark turned and looked at her. He remained silent as he stared at her admiring her beauty. Lana started getting self-conscious from his stare. She tried to straighten her hair and smiled embarrassedly. "What?" she asked sweetly.

"I was just thinking… how things…You know… hindsight sucks!"

Lana looked at him not sure what was going on in his mind. "What do you mean?"

"You know… when you reach a point in your life and look back… and all you can see is regrets…" he said with a downcast look.

"I don't believe that… I can't believe that when you look back in your life all you can feel is regret… Clark… you are a symbol, an idol and a protector for an entire planet! I mean how can you not acknowledge that?"

"Because I'm not complete Lana! This is not all I am! I want to be Clark Kent!" said Clark sitting down in one of the chair dejected.

Lana approached him. "Clark… I can't even begin to understand how confusing and hard it must be for you to try and balance this… but you are Clark Kent… you have your life…" she said encouragingly.

"But that's the thing Lana… I don't have a life… I tried to but I messed it up… I made all the wrong decisions… and I let Superman dictate the whole of my life… I let it become all I was… So many mistakes…"

"Clark… sweetie… we all make mistakes… If you feel like you have made mistakes try to correct them… if you can't, then learn from them so they are not wasted…" she said smiling warmly at him.

Clark looked at Lana surprised, as slowly, memories of those very same words being said to him resurfaced. It was his parents that had said those words to him, that somewhere down the road Clark had forgotten. He looked at Lana with admiration and love as his eyes started to get misty from becoming emotional.

Looking at him tear up Lana got worried. She took a step towards him, and put her hand on his cheek. "Clark… what's the matter?"

Clark pressed her hand on his cheek and then turned and kissed it as he started to cry. Lana felt very uncomfortable with the situation, but her heart went out to him, so she sat on the arm of the chair and put her arms around him, as he rested his head on her chest and cried.

From over the sofa two little eyes were watching them, with a curious but sad look.

Clark remained in Lana's arms, drawing comfort and strength from her. "I have to set my life straight Lana." he whispered.

"I know Clark…"

"But I can't be Superman until I have…" he concluded, not sounding so sure.

"Clark you can't do that. You will be making the same mistake in reverse. Superman is as much a part of you as Clark is, you can't cut off half of you. You will still be miserable if you do, don't you see? You have to find a way to balance it and to do that you have to fully embrace all you are. To be in harmony." Said Lana warmly.

"But I can't focus in fixing my life if I'm constantly required to worry about everyone on this planet." Said Clark with desperation evident in his voice.

"But Clark… that is who you are… you can't change that… I mean if I … or Laura were in danger wouldn't you try and help us?"

Clark looked at her dead serious. "Lana… you know I would never let anything happen to either of you…"

Lana smiled sweetly to him and touched his cheek. "I know Clark, but there are also other children like Laura out there and other people who look up to you and turn to you for help… you know you could never turn them down… it's in your nature… You are the best man I've known Clark…"

"But I can't do this alone…" said Clark looking down to the floor dejected.

Lana lift his head gently with her hand and smiled at him. "Sweetie… you are not alone… you were never alone…"

Clark looked Lana deep into her eyes with infinite love. He wondered how he could have ever lived without her in his life. As the silence between them started getting intense Clark moved his head closer to Lana's, who was starting to feel awkward and confused. She wanted to kiss him, but she wasn't sure if it was wise for her to get mixed up into something that complicated, with Laura. _But what is the alternative? _She wondered. _I can't cut him off from my life… and I don't want to… but I'm not sure about this… oh God he's moving closer… I… I want to…_

As Clark was inches away from her, Lana couldn't handle the pressure and got up from the arm of the chair to put some distance between her and Clark. "I…I can't… I…"

Then they both turned surprised to see Laura standing near Clark. She had a sad look in her face. "No sad C'ark…" she said to him, looking with her innocent little eyes.

Clark felt a tear roll down his cheek. He smiled at Laura, picked her up and placed her in his lap. "How can I be sad when I've got you and your mother here to keep me company eh?"

"Watch catoons?" she asked Clark.

Clark smiled and placed her down to go and watch cartoons. Then he felt her pulling him by the hand. "Watch catoons C'ark."

Clark smiled, got up and let Laura lead him to the couch where she sat next to him to watch cartoons.

Lana couldn't keep the tears from falling down her beautiful face after seeing this. They were tears of happiness though. That's what she always wanted. That's what she considered home.

To be continued…


	17. Ride with the devil

Ride with the Devil

Clark was sitting once again alone in his mother's house. Lana and Laura had left a while ago. He sat there contemplating that for the time they were here, he felt happy. Truly happy as if he was a part of something. Now he realized that he hated it that they left.

_I hadn't felt like that for a long time now… It felt wonderful… And Laura… I'm crazy about that kid… she is almost a mirror image of Lana when she was that age… at least from the photographs I've seen… And she's so smart and wonderful… well… no wonder… Se is Lana's daughter… and Clive's … that stupid bastard… how can you have two wonderful people in your life like Lana and Laura and leave them? … If I ever find him… But… hey… what am I talking about… it turned out for the best… if he hadn't left, they would probably still be there with him… and he doesn't deserve them… Laura deserves to have a family though… and Lana deserves someone to love her for the wonderful person she is… if only…_

Clark was interrupted by the phone ringing. He lazily picked it up.

"Hello…"

"Clark… it's Lionel… Please don't hang up…" said Lionel on the other side.

"What do you want Lionel?" said Clark a bit abruptly.

"Clark I have something very important to tell you…"

"I don't care in what you have to say Lionel…"

"Clark… if you don't want to do it for me, consider that what I'm about to tell you might save some lives."

Clark sighed. He may not have felt very high on Superman right now, but he couldn't turn down something like that.

"Ok. Make it quick."

"I can't tell you over the phone. Please come meet me at the Starlight Café downtown Metropolis in 5 minutes."

"Ok… Lionel but this better be good."

------------------------------------

Lana put Laura to sleep and then went over to take a quick shower. As she was in the shower and the hot water was falling on her, she closed her eyes and started thinking about what happened.

…_That was wonderful… I've never seen Laura act like that with someone she knows as little as she knows Clark… And Clark was so sweet with her… He almost kissed me… he went in to kiss me… was Lois right? I… I… don't want to set myself up to get hurt again… I can't afford that now… And with how Clark is right now, he needs someone to take care of him in a way… how can I do that… I have my daughter to think about… He looked so weak and vulnerable… maybe that's why he tried to kiss me… he just got caught in a weak moment… But it's obvious even to me that he still has feelings for me… I guess he can also tell that I still love him… God I'm so stupid… I can't even pretend that I'm fine when I'm around him… _

_But today, after all the tension and the crying, it was almost like … we were… a family… that's stupid… I shouldn't think like that… Clark can't handle something like this now… he has to straighten up his head first… but it seemed like it helped him that we were there… he reminded me of the old Clark… and he was so nice with Laura… Not like Clive… I mean… Clark should have been… sigh … if only…_

-----------------------------------

Clark saw Lionel sitting at a remote table in the café. He approached him hesitantly.

"Clark, I'm glad you decided to hear me out…" said Lionel sincerely.

"Out with it Lionel, I will not be staying for long…" he said as he sat opposite Lionel.

"Ok… straight to the point then… I want you to prevent the damage that will be caused by an accident that will take place in two days." Said Lionel looking at Clark seriously.

Clark looked at Lionel as if he was crazy. "What the hell are you talking about? How do you know that an accident will happen? Are you or Lex planning something?"

"Well Lex is… A test of a new biochemical weapon will take place in Nevada in two days. Lex is sponsoring it and has ordered for this test. They think that the effects will be contained, but they won't! I'm almost certain that they won't. So if it is not contained, imagine the damage! I mean granted that we don't know completely what this thing does…"

"So what am I supposed to do? Stop them?"

"No. I don't think you can stop them as it is also government sanctioned, and it's considered top secret."

"So what do I do?"

"You let the accident happen, but contain the effects of the damage." Said Lionel plainly.

"Let it happen? Are you crazy? What if I can't contain the damage?"

"You'll have to. There is no other way."

"I will stop it before it begins."

"You can't do that Clark, think about it. First of all you'll have to go against the government itself. Even if you are Superman they will not take kindly to those kinds of interventions. Are you prepared for a confrontation with both Lex and the Government?"

"Maybe there's another way…"

"Even if as Clark Kent you wrote something about this, and they decided that with the publicity they should not do it now, they will simply move the date and the location and then we will have no clue of where and when it's going to happen. You won't achieve anything."

"Wait a minute… How are you so sure that this accident will take place?"

"I've been around the world Clark. I've also walked the shadows and it's quite amazing what you see and learn there. So let's just say, that I have a friend who has a friend who knows how they came about this weapon and whether it's functional or not. He hasn't let me down in the past, and I'm pretty sure that Lex is not aware of this."

"Why don't you talk to Lex yourself?"

"Because Clark, I'm dead to my son. Both literally and figuratively. He wouldn't listen to me and besides that wouldn't help him. Don't be mistaken Clark. My only concern still, is to help save my son."

"How are you planning to save him from himself then?"

"You will help me of course. After you prevent any damage from the accident, it's time for your other side to take charge. You must write an article exposing Lex's involvement in this, with facts I'll supply you with."

Clark looked at Lionel in disbelief. "You have a pretty funny notion of saving someone Lionel. You want to destroy him?"

"Only so that I can save him from all of this! Don't you see Clark? The only way that Lex is ever going to be saved from himself, is if he falls from his high and mighty throne!"

"What are you talking about? That would surely dent his image and probably create some serious problems for the Luthorcorp stock, but it won't dethrone Lex. Don't be delusional Lionel."

"Maybe it will maybe it won't. But what do you have to lose? Maybe it will even hinder his purchase of the Daily Planet…"

Clark scoffed. "If anything that will probably strengthen his grip on the Daily Planet, but as you said… it's probably worth a shot."

Lionel smiled satisfied, then immediately got up and walked away from Clark. "I will contact you for more information tomorrow." He said before he walked out of the café.

Clark remained seated, contemplating if what he was doing was right. He was practically making a deal with who he considered, for a long while, the devil and especially now that he was getting closer with Lana and Laura. Maybe it was a bad idea after all. Maybe he shouldn't be bringing trouble in their lives. Clark's thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his mobile. He looked at his watch surprised. It was 10 p.m.

He looked at the screen of his mobile, but there was no caller id. He answered it. "Hello…"

"Hello Clark…" Lex's voice greeted him on the other end.

"Lex? What do you want?" said Clark starting to feel uneasy after speaking with one Luthor already.

"Hasn't Lana told you? I have an offer for you Clark. An offer that I'm sure you'll find intriguing."

To be continued…


	18. Honesty

Honesty

Clark entered Lex's office, hesitantly. He was very curious to see what Lex had to say, after he had just met Lionel.

"How come you're always at your office Lex? Don't you have any life whatsoever, outside this company?"

"Hello Clark." Said Lex with a smile. "And to answer your question… This company IS my life Clark. Which is the reason why you are here."

"Really?" asked Clark curious as to what Lex was meaning.

"I'll get straight to the point Clark. I want to turn a new page for this company. I want to take it to the next level. But I have to work on the image of the company first. Which is where you come in…"

"Me? What do I have to do with the image of your company Lex?"

"Actually a whole lot, since you're the one who constantly slams me and everything related to me in your articles, but that's besides the point. I want you to work for me as a middle man."

Clark now was really curious. "Middle man? Between you and who?"

"Superman." Answered Lex with a smile.

"What! Are you serious?" said Clark in amazement.

"Oh yes… Very… I want to turn a new leaf for Luthorcorp. I want to try and set straight all the bad ties of my company, which I must admit are quite a few. But I can't do that alone. That's why I want Superman's help. I want him to help me clear out the vermin. I mean… I acknowledge that not all of the facets of Luthorcorp are clean cut, but you can expect that in such an enormous global organization. Just imagine it Clark… Plus I'll once again be on the side of the angels…" said Lex with a smirk.

Clark was caught by surprise. He never expected to hear something like this from Lex, and now that he did, he wasn't sure if he believed him. "Is this for real, or is it just a way to shed all the bad publicity?"

Lex laughed. "Clark the major source of bad publicity is already in my hands, namely the Daily Planet. Although I must admit that having Superman on my side will do wonders for my international image, even you can see the possibilities for something good and big, don't you? We could usher in a new era, for all the world."

Clark looked at Lex troubled and skeptical. "Why do you want to do this Lex? What do you hope to achieve with this?"

"Recognition and for my name to take the place it deserves in the annals of history. If things keep going the way they are, sure… I'll still be making a lot of money, Luthorcorp will still get bigger, but no matter how much money I donate each year, no matter how mow many foundations I've opened, the world still feels as if I'm the big bad wolf out to devour the world. I now want that to change. I want to finally get the recognition I deserve Clark, and Superman can help me achieve that. As you see I'm being as honest as I can be about my goals… so what do you say? … Will you take my offer to him?"

-----------------------------------

Lana was laying in her bed, but sleep kept avoiding her. Many thoughts kept swirling in her mind. She needed to find a job, and now seriously considered taking Lex's offer. She also wondered on whether she should move to Metropolis or not and if she did, would it be a good thing for Laura? And of course her mind also went to Clark Kent.

She then returned abruptly to reality as she heard a soft, barely audible, tap on her window. She got up and approached the window. As she opened it she gasped and almost let out a scream when she saw Superman hovering outside her window.

"Clark what are you doing here? You scared the hell out of me!"

"Sorry… Don't worry nobody saw me… I was extra careful…" said Clark with a sheepish look.

"Well… don't just… hover… out there come in quickly before anyone sees you."

Clark got in her room through the window. "Sorry Lana… if this is a bad time I'll leave…"

"No… it's ok… It's just… you caught me by surprise… I mean… why the uniform? Why not come in through the door?"

"I wasn't sure if you were asleep… and besides I was out flying, to clear my head… it was a bizarre night to say the least."

Lana relaxed a bit, even though the suit still made her feel somewhat uncomfortable. Even in her room she kept worrying that someone might see him there. She went and sat on her bed.

"Anything you want to share?"

Clark looked torn. "I… I'm not sure… I mean I don't want to get you involved in any of this…"

"Clark… knowing what's troubling you, doesn't mean that I'm immediately involved in the affairs that trouble you… unless of course it has something to do with me…" she said softly to him, to try and alleviate his worry.

"Well… now that you mention it, Lex said something about you when we talked."

"You talked to Lex?"

"Yeah… he called me and told me about an offer he wants to make me."

"That's right!" said Lana as she remembered her talk with Lex the other day. "He told me that he wanted to tell you something."

"When did you talk to him?" asked Clark concerned.

"On your mother's funeral, when he came to pay his respects to her. In fact he seemed genuinely worried about you, and then he told me that he was meaning to make you an offer."

"Well he did… but I want you to stay away from him… at least for the time being… Until I figure out what's going on…"

"Stay away from him? Why?"

"Because I still don't know what's going on between him and Lionel and it seems dangerous."

"But Clark… he offered me a job… that I can't ignore… and… "

Clark cut Lana off. "Lana please… just wait for a while… I will get to the bottom of this…"

"I need this job Clark… I mean… it's not like the offers are coming in abundance right now…"

"We'll think of something…" said Clark looking at her pleadingly.

_We? He said We? I… it's so simple… yet it sounds so wonderful… we…_

"Ok Clark… I'll wait for a little while more…" she said smiling reassuringly to him.

Clark approached her and took hold of her hands, as he looked intensely in her eyes. "Thank you Lana… I… just don't want anything to disrupt you and your daughter's life. I… " as he was looking at her, he felt the urge to kiss her and he didn't fight it.

He leaned closer and kissed her tenderly. Lana was taken by surprise at first, then she responded by kissing him back, but then her brain started working again and screamed to break this off. She broke the kiss and turned away from Clark.

"I… I'm sorry Clark… I …. I don't know… it's…" stammered Lana as she felt her eyes get all misty.

"No Lana… you have nothing to be sorry about… I've been thinking a lot about everything that's happened lately… If there's anyone here who should be sorry, that's me. I'm sorry for many things. I have made many mistakes in my life and I managed to completely mess it up, which is only fair. But unfortunately, I managed to mess up your life too… and for that I will always feel ashamed. The biggest regret of my life is not trusting in you and what we had more. I should have followed my mother's advice and trust you to let you make your own decisions, instead of stupidly trying to do that for you. If I had realized that earlier… things could have been so different for both of us…"

As Clark was pouring his soul, Lana was turned away from him, and she was now crying. Her heart felt pain, joy, relief and regret and her mind was filled with two big questions. "Why" and "what if?".

"I know that it's probably too late to try and make things right, but I want you to know, that everything I did, I honestly thought it was for your own good. And even though I did love Lois, my soul was, is and will always be yours."

With that Clark opened the window and flew out into the night sky.

Lana slowly turned around and stared at the open window with tears in her eyes.

To be continued…


	19. You and me

Sorry for the long wait guys… I had some personal stuff to attend to. Anyway… here are the next chapters.

Tayrion

**You and me**

The next morning Lana woke up feeling a strange sense of peace. Last night with everything she heard Clark say, she became so overly emotional that she cried for most part of the night. It was almost cathartic. She heard from him, all those things she wanted to hear during the years they spent apart. It was still a very complicated situation though. He was still Superman, and she still had Laura to think about. But for the first time she was able to let go of all the issues she had regarding Clark and their failed attempts at a relationship. She felt like she could make a fresh start.

She prepared Laura her breakfast, they ate and then they went out for a morning walk. Soon, without realizing it, she found herself walking in the Smallville cemetery and towards Martha's grave. They went over and sat down on the grass. Laura sat beside her really quietly as if she realized the sacred place they were in.

"Hello Martha…" said Lana with a sad smile on her face. "Laura is also here to see you… I miss you… we both do… You know that you were her favorite person in the world right? She always had a big smile on her face when she saw you… and it seems like she's taken a liking to Clark also… you should have seen them the other day… they were sitting watching cartoons and Laura kept on trying to explain to Clark the story of every single character…" said Lana with a light chuckle. "Poor Clark… I'm sure he didn't understand half of what she told him… it… it felt really right… you know… it felt like home Martha… as if we were finally where we belonged…" a lonely tear started rolling down Lana's face.

Laura seeing that, got up and tried to wipe the tear from Lana's face. "Mommy don cly…"

Lana turned and looked at her daughter lovingly. She smiled and hugged her. "Don't you worry honey… these are happy tears…"

"Hullo C'ark" said Laura looking behind Lana with a big smile on her face.

Lana turned around surprised and saw Clark standing just a few feet behind, looking very emotional.

Lana bit her lip, immediately wondering what had Clark heard. "Hey…" she said softly as she turned around again to face Martha's grave.

Clark approached them and saw Laura waiting for him with extended arms. "Hey you…" he said with a smile as he lift her in his arms and kissed her cheek. "Have you been a good girl Laura?"

Laura looked at him with her wide beautiful eyes and nodded. "Yesh… mommy shays good gi'l. "

Clark chuckled. "Well… if your mommy says so… then you are definitely a good girl." Said Clark as he placed her down.

Laura then saw a little turtle just a few feet away and got all excited. "Bobby…" she yelled as she ran next to the little turtle.

"Bobby?" inquired Clark with a perplexed look.

Lana chuckled. "It's the name of a turtle in one of those cartoons she watches. Don't ask me why they would call a turtle Bobby though."

Clark smiled and sat down on the grass next to Lana. Both remained silent for a while, as the tension was almost palpable.

"So…" said Clark awkwardly.

Lana took a deep breath and turned to look at Clark. "I think it's my turn to speak now Clark."

Clark gulped hard as he wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not.

"What you said last night… you have no idea what that meant to me Clark… I spent all these years wondering why… why you would chose to exclude me from your life… I tried to move on… I really tried… but I was either very unlucky or just stuck on you… When you later on tried to bridge the gap that was between us and tried to be my friend, I know I acted very immaturely by not responding the way I should have… but I didn't think I could handle being just your friend Clark… I mean… I could understand how you might have come to fall in love with Lois eventually… but what hurt the most was that when you decided to go and live in Metropolis, you didn't come to me first…"

"But I did come Lana." Said Clark defensively. "You were the first person I went to. But when I came, I saw you with someone else… and you seemed happy and content… I didn't want to mess up your life again Lana… that's why I left…"

"But Clark… don't you see what I'm saying… You were the one Clark… You were always the one… Despite the fact that I'm pretty sure whoever it was, was just a friend, …you were Clark… I mean… " Lana became emotional again as she found it hard to continue.

Clark reached out with his hands and cupped her face. "I know Lana… I was stupid… as I said… I should have trusted in you… I should have let you make your own decisions instead of trying to make it for you… I… I wish I could have done things differently… I'm so sorry…"

Lana remained silent for a while. Then she lift her head and looked at Clark. "No more Clark… Let's not do that anymore… Let's not fall back to the what ifs…" Then decidedly she put her hands around his neck and pulled him close for a kiss.

It was tender and reserved. Both feared of what it would be like, and what the other one would feel; but as it was, their lips remembered the dance they so passionately played all those years ago. Like two lovers who intimately know each other, the memory and feelings never fade. They may lay dormant for a while, but given the right spark they explode once more, enveloping both in their warmth.

When they broke their kiss they embraced each other and remained in each other's arms for a while. Laura watched them from near by not really sure why they were crying, since as it was obvious to her they loved each other. And from somewhere far, Martha looked down and smiled, finally at peace.

**To be continued…**

Obsessed4ever2Clana- Wow… thanks a lot for your wonderful comments. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story as well… And I'm also glad you didn't stop reading with all the Lois stuff before. I just wanted to be respectful to the mythos and the characters, and still write the future as I would want it. That is why I tried to write Lois as realistic as possible… considering the circumstances. As you see from this chapter on it's Clana for sure. 


	20. Family Portrait

**Family Portrait**

As Clark and Lana remained embraced, Laura approached them quietly and looked at them with sad eyes. Lana saw her and got worried. "What is it sweetie?"

Laura opened her arms. "Me too…" she said as she tried to put each of her little hands around Clark and Lana.

Clark smiled and embraced both Laura and Lana warmly. As the three of them were embraced there, Lana felt tearing up. This felt so right to her. And the fact that Laura was so accepting of Clark made her even happier. Clark seeing Laura have a big smile on her face, relished this moment and he felt like they were already a family. He knew it wasn't true, but it felt like that to him nonetheless.

Breaking the embrace they remained in silence the three of them. No words needed to be said. Then Clark turned to Lana and Laura with a smile. "So… do you want to do something today? The three of us?"

Lana couldn't help but smile and Laura jumped up and down. "Big wheel! Big wheel!" she said excitedly.

Clark looked at Lana perplexed. "Does she mean at the fair ground?"

Lana chuckled. "Yeah… We've been up there once and she just loved the view from up there. It was weird… She wasn't scared at all."

"Ok… Laura wants the big wheel… and it's the big wheel she'll have."

"Yay!" Laura started clapping her hands with a big wide smile on her face.

As they got up, and Laura started skipping ahead, Lana took hold of Clark's hand and leaning close to him she whispered: "Thank you." and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Believe me Lana… It's me who should be thanking you…"

---------------------------

Lex was sitting calmly on his office, when the phone rang. "Hello… Yes… We go ahead as planned… Look… the best scientists have looked at the stats and confirmed to me that it can be contained and it will be alright… I can't pull the plug on this just because one nut says that it will be a disaster… Have you any idea what this will mean for our weapons branch? We're talking deals you can't even begin to imagine… What? … who is he working for? … What does it mean you don't know? I pay you to know! He must be working for someone… People don't just out of the blue get involved in top secret projects, if it's none of their business… Someone put him to it for information… I want to know who… Don't call me back unless you found out who it is!" and with that he hang up the phone.

He had spent too much money and energy on this project to leave anything to chance. If someone else was involved he had to know who and why. Nothing should slip past Lex Luthor.

----------------------------

They reached the fair ground and walked hand in hand towards the ferris wheel. Laura was in the middle and every few steps they'd swing her back and forth as she laughed excitedly.

When they got in the wagon, they put Laura in the middle, as she seemed hardly able to contain her excitement, for the "big wheel". As the wheel started to slowly turn and lift them up, Laura started laughing happily. Clark had one hand protectively around Laura, and with the other brushed Lana's hair softly. This was the happiest he had felt in a long while. All worries seemed so far away at that moment. It was just the three of them as it should have been for a long while, thought Clark. Few words were spoken as they savored just being together and enjoying each other's company; as a family.

------------------------------

Lionel waited patiently by his phone. He was waiting for a confirmation that was taking way too long for his liking. He wanted to be sure when and where the test was taking place, as there was no margin for mistake in this specific gamble he was taking. _Clark might be Superman, but even someone like him can mess up,_ thought Lionel. _I have to be absolutely positive about what I tell him._

As the phone rang, Lionel snapped back to reality. "Yes… Are you sure? … I don't have the luxury of almost. I want you to be certain of what you're telling me. Ok, then… It's where we thought it would take place… that's good… what? … they caught him? … did he say anything? … Damn it…. I told you to be extra careful… if you thought he lacked the experience you should never have brought him with you. … Ok… ok… let's hope he doesn't talk… at least until tomorrow… after that I really don't care…"

With that Lionel hang up the phone and a smile played on his face.

------------------------------

Clark walked Lana and Laura to their house. They had spent the whole day together and now all three of them had a big smile on their faces. As they reached Lana's home they lingered for a while in the entrance.

"So…" said Clark sheepishly. "I had a great time today."

"Yeah… us too. Didn't we Laura?" Lana tried to look at her baby girl, who had fallen asleep in her arms.

"Well I guess that's a yes. She's exhausted the poor thing." Said Clark with a smile. "Anyway… I… better go… I'm a bit hungry so I think I'll go home and grab something to eat." Said Clark hesitantly.

Lana looked at her watch. "Look it's 10 o clock, so if you don't mind waiting a bit until I put Laura to sleep, I can prepare something for us to eat."

Clark smiled. "I'd really like that." Then he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.

"Ok… then…" said Lana smiling sweetly to him. "I got to warn you though… My fridge is a bit on the empty side, if you exclude all the baby stuff for Laura…"

Clark smiled as Lana unlocked the door and entered the apartment. "Right now… I'm just grateful for being around you Lana…"

**To be Continued…**


	21. So damn lucky

**So damn Lucky**

Clark and Lana sat in the living room after they had something to eat, that Lana quickly threw together. They had just finished watching Spiderman 2 on DVD.

"Ha… That will be the day… People getting powers by spiders biting them… so if a radioactive mosquito had bitten him, what would his powers be? Bugging the hell out of people?" said Clark sarcastically.

Lana chuckled. "I have to admit though, that the movie gave me a strong sense of deja-vu in many parts… if you know what I mean… " said Lana looking at Clark mischievously.

Clark looked at her sheepishly. "Yeah… the secret thing… In my defence though, I told you willingly… he revealed himself to MJ without realizing it…"

Lana smiled satisfied and kissed Clark on the cheek. "Yes… you did… that really meant a lot to me…"

"But you see… I wasn't totally paranoid by being afraid to tell you my secret… Peter also thought like that…"

"Yes but she still was in trouble without knowing his secret… so…"

Clark looked downwards and said a bit sadly. "…maybe it would have been better to not have met him at all…"

Lana looked at him as though he was crazy. "What? That's what you got from this movie? Argh… Clark sometimes I think that your mind is completely alien to me … no pun intended." Said Lana as she turned her back to him in mock anger.

Clark quickly tried to correct the situation. He hugged her from behind and lightly kissed her neck. "Sorry… it's just that some habits die hard…"

"I just can't believe that you still consider that maybe I would have been better off not having met you… sometimes I think that maybe you say that for yourself." Said Lana half annoyed, half teasing.

Clark turned her around decisively so that she looked him in the eyes. "Don't ever think that again. The luckiest moments in my life, are my parents finding me, and meeting you. I thank God every day for that." He said intensely as he looked at her.

Lana smiled lightly at him. "I never think that Clark…"

"Then why would you say that?"

Lana leaned in really closely and lightly brushed her lips with his as she whispered to him. "Because I love what you tell me and I love how intense you get when you're trying to convince me of something."

Clark smiled. "Oh… well in that case." He stopped the dance that Lana's lips were making –which was driving him crazy with lust- by a passionate kiss of his own. Soon as the kiss grew in heat and intensity, they came closer and closer in a tight embrace, and their bodies were like one. Clark let his passion get the best of him and started to unbutton the shirt that Lana was wearing. Lana didn't react as she herself wanted this very much, but Clark was the one to break it off.

He stopped and closed his eyes, trying to calm his breath. "Sorry Lana… I just…"

Lana turned his face to look at her, and without saying anything she started finishing unbuttoning her shirt. She didn't take off the shirt though. She just left it hanging loosely over her partly covered bra. Then she went in and kissed Clark with ferocity. Clark got up and picked her up in his arms, all the while not breaking the kiss.

With sure steps he took her upstairs to her bedroom, making sure they were quiet though, closed the door and gently laid her on her bed. As he leaned in on top of her, he felt a buzzing in his pocket and then a ringing tone was heard. He sighed in frustration and got off of Lana.

"Hello.."

Lex was on the other line.

"Hello Clark, sorry for the inappropriate of the hour, but I just wanted to ask you again… Have you thought of my offer?"

"Lex this really isn't a good time to talk about this."

Lana hearing Lex's name stiffened a bit. She knew that Lex and Clark/Superman didn't mix all that nicely.

"Too bad… I'm leaving tomorrow for a trip to China and I was hoping that you and perhaps Supes could join me there. You could bring Lana if you wanted to."

At the mention of Lana's name Clark became very irritated. "Mind your own business Lex. And no… I don't want to go to China… As for your offer… I'm still thinking about it… I'm hanging up now… bye."

"Goodbye Clark…"

Clark sat at the edge of the bed thoughtful. He really didn't like the timing of this situation. Now that he finally had another chance with the woman he loved, this situation with the Luthors came up. He didn't want to bring trouble to her or Laura. _Now is not the time to be thinking like that. I was lucky enough that I finally got another chance to set things right, I'm not going to let anything ruin that. Most of all myself…_

Clark felt Lana's hands wrapping around his waist from behind him and her kissing his neck. "What's wrong?" she asked softly.

"I… a mix up with Lex and Lionel… it's…" Clark found himself struggling with whether he should tell her or not.

"Look Clark… you don't have to say anything… just know that if you want to talk to someone about it… I'm here for you…" said Lana lovingly.

Clark turned around and looked at her with infinite love painted all over his face. He kissed her gently. "Thank you for being the wonderful person that you are."

Then Clark thought he heard something coming from somewhere in the house. Lana hadn't heard anything and as he didn't want to upset her over nothing, he stood up and acted normal. "Can you give me two minutes?"

Lana looked at him quizzically. "Sure… Why?"

"I have something I want to give you." Said Clark with a cryptic smile, and sped off the room. In a matter of seconds Clark had checked on Laura, who was sleeping, checked every corner of the house, and after he was certain, there was nothing wrong in the house, he checked the neighborhood just to make sure. Then in a couple of minutes he flew to Holland and picked up some fresh tulips from the ground and brought them to Lana, who had already also checked on Laura.

When Lana saw him suddenly in front of her holding the bouquet of tulips, she gasped. "Are those really from where I think they are?"

Clark smiled proudly, raising his eyebrows in the process, in a sexy manner.

Lana took them and smelled them, smiling from Clark's reaction. "Show off!" she said teasingly.

Clark smiled brightly at her. "You ain't seen nothing yet." He said again with that cocky look.

He put her in a tight embrace and started kissing her. Soon they started to float slowly over the bed. As Clark was removing Lana's clothes and his own he gently lowered them both on the bed. Passion had taken over them.

It was as if they weren't apart for all those years. Their bodies remembered vividly one another and the sensations and smells. They both felt their hearts would explode from all the pent up emotions and passion that they had kept for one another over those long years apart.

And when they were finished, they lay together embraced, finally returning to where they belonged.

-------------------------------------

After they lay for quite a while in Lana's bed enjoying each other's presence, they decided that it would be best if Clark left, so as to not overwhelm Laura the next morning.

As Clark was walking home lost in his thoughts of Lana that had swarmed his mind, he was brought back to reality by his phone ringing. Clark was so annoyed that he momentarily considered throwing it away and putting into orbit, but then he calmed down and answered it.

Lionel's voice was heard on the other end.

"Clark it's time."

To be continued…


	22. Hurt

**Hurt**

Lana woke up the next morning feeling happier than she had ever felt and yet something was missing. As she turned to the other side of her bed, she realized that she just wished Clark could have stayed there and woken up beside her. But that was just a small complaint. The future, for the first time in a very long while, felt brighter. She got up from her bed with a big smile on her face, and strolled happily to Laura's bedroom.

She was still sleeping peacefully like an angel. She sat on the side of her bed, stroked her hair lightly and kissed her cheek. "Sweetie…" she said softly.

Laura stirred in her sleep and turned to look at Lana sleepily. She mumbled something incoherently and turned to her other side, wanting to continue her blissful sleep. Lana chuckled and let her continue her sleep.

She went to the kitchen and started preparing a breakfast for Laura.

_Oh my God… I'm acting like a love-struck school girl… I can't stop grinning… But to hell with that… what's wrong with being happy? … I'm happy… Last night was wonderful… Why did he have to leave? … Maybe soon he won't have to leave… I mean… Laura seems to like him a lot… maybe she will accept him sooner than I think… But am I rushing this? Is he really ready to get mixed up with someone with a child? I men he just got divorced… No he didn't… It's been almost 7 months… But I still don't know if he is truly ready… he seems like he is though… But let's face it… I'm not 20 anymore… I can't have relationships just for fun anymore… Not with Laura in my life… What the hell am I thinking? This is Clark we're talking about… It could never be just another relationship with him… I just hope he feels the same… It just feels so right when we're together… and he is so wonderful with Laura… I don't think anyone who saw us could tell that she wasn't his daughter… Besides… Laura didn't get anything from Clive… she's all me!_ Thought Lana with a mischievous grin.

Absentmindedly she turned on the TV and kept on going about her business.

_But apart from that, I have to find a job. I'm running out of money fast and we can't have that… Right now the only solid offer I have is from Lex and Clark told me to stay away from him for the time being… I trust him enough to know that something is going on… Clark wouldn't have told me to put off a potential great job offer if he didn't have a very good reason… Let's just hope that whatever the situation is it's resolved quickly, cause I won't be able to even get food for Laura in a matter of months… Maybe I should start looking more actively for something else… Which means that I'll have to get someone to watch over Laura from time to time… But could I really afford her right now… Ugh… It's so frustrating… Maybe I should talk to Clark about…_

Her mind stopped and she froze as she saw her TV screen.

"This is from an amateur video camera, of some tourists who happened to pass through the area just a couple of hours before… In the background you can see Superman hovering over an area inspecting a strange cloud that slowly expands as you see… Below him you can see that something is on fire which probably caused the cloud… and here… here you can clearly see Superman using those energies that emit from his eyes, shooting them straight into the cloud… the cloud then seems to dissipate a little but before it completely dissipates… here… here you see Superman using his breath to quickly lower the temperature of the cloud that was gathered and … look at that it seems like it's snowing in Nevada… well… at least over that specific spot anyway… But here is what caught everybody's attention… wait… here… here you see Superman plummet to the ground for some reason."

As Lana saw that she dropped the cup of coffee that she was holding in her hands, and a horrified look was planted on her face. She felt nausea take over her senses and she stumbled to her couch. She then frantically searched for her mobile as she turned up the volume of the TV to hear what else was being reported.

"… are still sketchy as to what exactly happened, in Nevada this morning. What was that cloud? What did Superman do? Why did he plummet to the ground afterwards and if he still is alright are questions that we yet don't know. The tourists who filmed this thought of going to where Superman fell but then decided it was best not to do that, since they had no idea what that cloud was. The FBI has already sealed off the area and are investigating what happened. They had no comment to make, however one of the agents told us that when they arrived Superman was nowhere to be found in the scene."

Lana dialed Clark's mobile but she kept on receiving the message that it was turned off. She was on the verge of crying. Up till now she had never actually seen something happen to Superman and she had created this idea of invincibility in her mind, that the image of Superman plummeting to the floor, had just shattered.

_For Clark to fall like that, it must mean that something serious happened to him… oh God… Please let him be alright…_

"Some whispers say that this must have been some kind of secret government weapon test, which would explain FBI's immediate intervention to seal off the area. However other's claim that it was an alien form of a virus and that is why Superman knew about it, and knew how to stop it. If that is the case however, it seems that Superman might have caught this… E.T. flew himself." Said the reporter with a sly smile, satisfied with the joke he just made.

A pillow was immediately thrown at the TV, as Lana looked in sheer anger at the TV. _You insensitive asshole! Yeah… that's hilarious… Ha… ha…_

Lana got up and started pacing in her living room. _Come on Clark… Call me… call me… I know you're tougher than this… Oh God please… not now… don't let anything happen to him…_

As Lana was pacing and crying softly, she saw her little daughter standing at the edge of the living room, looking at her with a troubled look. "Mommy… whas wrong? Why you cry?"

Lana stopped and looked at her daughter trying to smile. "Don't worry sweetie… It's nothing… everything will be fine… " said Lana as she kneeled down and opened her arms. Laura run to her and hugged her tightly.

Lana tried hard to hold back the tears. She was starting to hope for the future, that it was possible for her to have a happy family with Clark and Laura and that future was now threatened.

To be Continued...


	23. Weak and powerless

**Weak and Powerless**

When the ringing of the phone broke the disturbing silence in the house, Lana run to answer the phone, hoping to hear Clark on the other end reassuring her that he's alright. Unfortunately the person on the other end was not Clark.

"Hello…" said Lana unable to hide the nervousness in her voice.

"Lana… it's Chloe… I just saw it on the news… how is Clark?" said Chloe on the other end, sounding worried herself.

"Oh my God Chloe… I have no idea… I don't know where he is and what happened to him… I mean… for Clark to fall out of the sky like that, he must be really hurt…" Lana fought hard to control her breaking voice and keep back the tears that were threatening to roll from her eyes.

"… Don't worry Lana… I'm sure he'll be ok… after all he is Superman…" said Chloe trying to sound confident for her friend.

"I don't know Chloe… I…" Lana couldn't keep the tears from staining her cheeks any longer.

"Listen… from what I've gathered so far, this was some sort of side-project for the government regarding a new biological weapon and from what my sources tell me, Luthorcorp was producing it. I'll make a few more phone calls and see if I can learn anything else. But everyone so far claims that Superman was nowhere to be found when the feds sealed off the area. So maybe he got out of there."

"If that's the case then where is he?"

-------------------------------------

Clark opened his eyes and realized he was in a place that resembled a lab. He was strapped on a table and found himself unable to break free of the straps. He also felt dizzy and disoriented, the unmistakable effect of Kryptonite. Soon he saw a figure approach him.

"Relax Clark…" said Lionel as he came into Clark's line of sight.

Clark realizing he was still in his Superman suit looked around to see if there was anyone else present that might have heard Lionel call him by his real name.

"Don't worry… We're all alone…" said Lionel with a smile. "I know you wouldn't appreciate people knowing your secrets, so I sent all the doctors away for now."

"Where am I?"

"You're at a safe place. This here is a lab that belongs to one of the many companies I obtained over the years."

"What have you done to me?" asked Clark, his voice barely concealing the anger and the threat that were present there.

"Nothing Clark… The only thing I'm guilty of is not telling you of the exact composition of the weapon they were testing. As you can imagine, by what happened to you, they used Kryptonite as the catalyst of their biological weapon. If it's any consolation you succeeded in containing the poisonous cloud that was created. Right now we're in the middle of taking the Kryptonite particles out of your system. You see you've inhaled quite a lot of it when you were near that cloud. It's a good thing you managed to succeed."

"Why didn't you tell me about it if you knew?"

"Because I didn't know how you'd react… You may have considered it too dangerous and approached things differently. I didn't want that… but the point is all's well that ends well, right?"

"How long have I been out?"

"Oh just a couple of hours… But now thanks to you this accident is already front page material…" said Lionel satisfied.

Clark looked at him perplexed. "What do you mean?"

"Well… a tourist 'happened' to pass by the area where this happened and how lucky for us that he had a camera and the good sense to tape the whole thing. Exciting television for sure… and the climax you falling out of the sky, exhausted after your timely intervention…" said Lionel in an almost theatrical presentation.

"They showed that on TV?"

"Oh… they sure did… It was brilliant…"

Clark got a worried look on his face. "Oh my god… Lana…"

"Pardon me?" asked Lionel.

"Why am I strapped Lionel?"

"Because while you were unconscious you've been having a sort of nightmare and you were flinging your limbs around recklessly. You've hurt two of my doctors."

"Well I'm awake now… so take them off…" said Clark looking intently at Lionel.

Lionel remained silent and thoughtful.

Clark slowly felt his anger swelling. "Lionel…"

"Ok… Ok…" said Lionel finally breaking a smile. He approached the bed and let Clark loose of the restraints. Clark made to get up but found it impossible, to stop his head from spinning. As he was about to tumble off the table he was on, Lionel caught him and laid him back down.

"I told you we're still in the process of cleaning up your system… it will be a couple of hours more, so just be patient…"

In his dizziness Clark was able to mutter. "Lana… call Lana… have to…" then he fell into slumber again.

-------------------------------------

Lana sat on her couch thoughtful. _Luthorcorp is involved in this… Should I call Lex and demand to know what happened… But Clark told me to stay away from him for now…If he was somehow involved… I would hate to drag myself and Laura into this… But I can't just sit around and do nothing… Think Lana think…_

Lana was once again interrupted by the phone. As her adrenaline was rising, she ran to answer the phone.

"Hello…" she said anxious to learn anything that would put her heart at ease.

"Hello Ms Lang…" said Lionel on the other end.

"Mr. Luthor?" Lana was surprised to hear him at first, but then her mind went back to a conversation she had with Clark the day before and how Lionel and Lex were up to something. She now wondered whether Lionel had anything to do with what happened to Clark.

"Yes… there's no need to worry Ms. Lang… I am, you can say, the bearer of good news… Clark Kent is fine…"

Lana felt immediately a huge load lift off her heart, but soon became worried again as to how Lionel would know about this. "How do you know Mr. Luthor?"

"Because he is here with me…"

Lana smiled relieved. "Can I speak to him?"

"Well… not really… he is here but he is currently… sleeping… you see he was hurt in that accident that happened today and right now we're helping him get better…"

Lana frowned when she heard that. Something didn't fit right. Why would Clark end up being with Lionel and what part did Lionel play in all this? "Well… where are you… I want to come and see him…"

"Oooh… that would not be possible Ms Lang… I'm sorry to say… we're at an undisclosed location and it will remain so… But don't you worry… I promise you that as soon as he is feeling better we're going to let him return to you… Don't forget… we're keeping him here for his own good… And in the meantime Ms. Lang… don't tell anyone about our little conversation… this is as much for your own good as his…"

Lana wasn't sure if Lionel was threatening her, but it scared her nonetheless. "Are you threatening me Mr. Luthor?" asked Lana after she mustered all her courage.

"By no means was that a threat Ms. Lang… You're not in danger from me… That was a warning… Just be careful… Wouldn't want that sweet precious daughter of yours be mixed up in our world… You've got to protect her first and foremost… Good bye Ms Lang…"

As Lana hang up the phone, a feeling of foreboding clutched her heart. She immediately and instinctively ran to where her daughter was quietly sitting and reading a book. She sat by her and held her tightly. The mere thought of something happening to her had scared Lana beyond belief. But what did Lionel mean?

To be Continued


	24. Sympathy for the Devil

**Sympathy for the devil**

Clark once again came to, feeling like the room around him was spinning. He looked around to take in his surroundings. He still felt weak, and something felt very wrong. He tried to move his hands and again so that he was strapped. Lionel then approached his bed once more.

Clark looked at him with suspicion. "Let me guess… I was having a bad dream again?"

Lionel chuckled. "I'm sorry Clark, but I have to take every precaution necessary. What you did has the potential to damage Luthorcorp's image, and prove Lex's ultimate downfall… but you have to do a bit more."

Clark smiled. "More of your dirty work I'm sure…"

Lionel looked at him surprised. "Dirty work? Do you consider containing that venomous cloud dirty work? Do you consider putting a stop to Lex's uninhibited imperialistic expansion dirty work? I was under the impression that this was what you wanted to accomplish yourself… Just because I helped you a little makes it dirty work?"

Clark remained silent. He still couldn't figure out whether Lionel was speaking truthfully or he tried to manipulate him. "I just don't feel comfortable knowing that I helped you achieve what you want, cause I still am not sure of what you want Lionel."

"I've told you before Clark. My goals are two-fold. To stop Lex and rid the world of a terrible menace, and save him in the process from himself. Which is why I need you to do something else for me too. First of all you are going to write an expose on Lex and his "underground" activities with Luthorcorp."

"Even if I did write that, Lex has control of the Daily Planet now. It would never get published."

Lionel smiled slyly. "Oh but it will Clark. Lex may think he owns the Daily Planet, but he doesn't have control over it… Well not yet anyway… Of course I will supply you with the information… But before you do that there is one last thing you need to do as Superman."

Clark was starting to lose his patience with all these demands from Lionel. At the moment though there was little he could do.

"I want you to break in at the CIA." Said Lionel looking dead serious.

Clark was surprised to hear this. HE certainly wasn't expecting something like this.

"What? Are you crazy? There is no way I'm going to do that!"

"You don't understand Clark… Do you know who holds the power in this world? It's not governments, it's not the army and it certainly isn't God! It's corporations like Luthorcorp. Lex has already control over the whole of the US and with Luthorcorp rapidly growing world wide, it won't be long before he gets control of the rest of the world. In the CIA I want you to get access to some files, that once you look at them, you want believe your eyes Clark. Lex or to be more precise Luthorcorp, is directly or indirectly responsible for every single war that has taken place in the last 3 years all around the globe. He has the government eating out of the palm of his hand and soon there won't be a single nation left that isn't controlled by him. Don't you think putting a stop to that is worth a little bending the rules?" said Lionel almost pleading at Clark.

Clark remained silent for what seemed an eternity to Lionel. He had to admit that Lionel seemed very genuine in what he was saying. He was certainly very passionate about it. "Lionel let me think about it at least… If what you say is true… then… I'm not sure… I think I'll do it… but Lionel… I have to warn you about two things. First of all if I find out that you've been lying to me, I'll come back to pay you a visit, and most importantly… if I ever have the remote suspicion that you might have caused Lana or Laura the slightest discomfort… or you looked at them the wrong way… I … " Clark didn't finish his sentence. He just looked at Lionel in the meanest way possible.

Lionel actually backtracked a little seeing Clark look at him in that way. "Clark… I swear to you… I'm being as honest as I can be with you… I wouldn't even think ill of Lana and her little daughter… You have to believe me Clark… I'm not the same man you knew…"

-----------------------------------

Lana tried once more to dial Clark's mobile, but still no answer. She didn't trust Lionel and she didn't like the idea that Clark was still with him and possibly hurt. Her train of thought was interrupted by a phone call.

"Lana… hi it's Lex…"

Lana was stunned silent. What the hell does Lex want now? "Lex! Umm… how are you?"

"Fine Lana… Listen I don't want to disturb you or anything, I was just looking for Clark… Have you seen him?"

"Um… No… Why do you ask?"

"I tried calling his home and then his mobile but neither is answering… I… I just wanted to talk to him about a conversation we had the other day… Well… anyway… tell him that I'm looking for him… Take care Lana… give my kisses to little Laura…"

As Lana hang up the phone a feeling of dread came over her. _Ok… this is getting way too dangerous… talking to both Lionel and Lex in one day is more than enough… God Clark… where are you? What is this mess i'm in all of a sudden?_

_-------------------------------------------_

Clark got out of the table he was laying on feeling significantly better. HE stood in front of Lionel looking at him sternly.

"Ok… Lionel… I guess I owe you a thank you for saving me, even though we could have avoided this had you told me that the cloud contained Kryptonite particles. I'll do what you asked, as long as you remember what I told you. You are not to talk, look or ask about Lana or her daughter… are we clear on that?"

Lionel smiled and extended his hand to Clark. "As clear as day Clark… but remember… you'll have to do this by tomorrow… ok? I don't know how much longer I can keep control of the Daily Planet."

Clark looked at him with doubt once more, but hesitantly shook Lionel's hand. And then he sped out of the lab and took off in the afternoon sky.

To be continued


	25. Welcome to my truth

As i delayed this update a bit more than usual, here is a thirds chapter update. :-) Hope you enjoy.

Tayrion

**Welcome to my truth**

Clark flew as fast as he could towards Smallville. He tried though to be as discreet as he could, to avoid being seen by people. As he landed in an alley near Lana's apartment, he quickly changed into Clark Kent. He walked quickly towards Lana's front door and knocked. He heard footsteps on the other side of the door, running. The door opened really abruptly and Clark was greeted with Lana's face looking at him with tears in her eyes, but smiling relieved. Without a word she threw herself in his open arms and he held her tightly.

Little Laura saw them from inside the apartment and ran towards Clark with the encouragement of another figure. It was then that Clark noticed Pete who was already there. Clark bent a bit and caught Laura with one free hand and lift her into a hug along with her mother. Laura was smiling and laughing as Clark held her. "hullo C'ark" she said giggling. Clark just kissed her cheek and then kissed the top of Lana's head.

He put Laura down and looked Lana in the eyes. "I'm so sorry you had to see that…"

Lana stopped him by putting her index finger on his lips. "The important thing is that you're ok…" she said offering him a weak smile.

As they walked into the apartment Pete greeted Clark with a smile and opened his arms to give his friend a hug. "You gave us quite a scare man." Said Pete as he smiled to Clark.

"What are you doing here Pete?" asked Clark breaking the hug.

"Well… when we left with Chloe, I stayed in Metropolis for a couple of days more to see some clients, and I happened to catch the news, so I thought I'd come over here and see what was going on. Too bad Lana didn't know anything about what happened."

Lana looked at Clark guiltily and turned around avoiding to look at Pete.

"So tell us man… what happened?" asked Pete curious.

Clark looked a bit uncomfortable for a minute. "I'd rather not drag you into anything Pete… believe me it's best this way."

Pete chuckled turning to Lana "Same ol' Clark eh? Always trying to do what's best for others… I'm glad to see that phase you were on your mother's funeral passed quickly."

Clark then knelt down again, as he saw Laura approach him smiling from ear to ear. She was holding in her little hands a paper. Clark took her in his arms and examined the paper which contained a drawing. "Let's see what you have done for me here." Said Clark looking at the piece of paper and seeing a drawing of what he was certain was Superman. "C'ark" said Laura pointing with her little hands at the Superman she had drawn.

At first Clark smiled, but then he lift his head and looked at Lana with a confused look. "Is this good or bad?" he asked her sounding very uncertain.

Lana returned his puzzled look and just shook her head not certain herself.

"If you ask me, it could prove dangerous…" offered a troubled Pete. "Maybe you should try and explain to her a couple of things Lana…"

Clark smiled and kissed Laura on the cheek. "Thank you Laura, it's very beautiful."

Laura just giggled a little and ran off to the big sofa in the living room.

"Clark… could we please take a walk… I want to talk to you about something… " asked Pete.

Clark looked at Lana who just smiled to him warmly. Then he turned to Pete "Ok Pete let's go…"

Before he went out the door with Pete, he approached Lana and held her tightly once more. He then kissed her forehead and smiled to her. "I'm sorry again for this Lana…"

Lana kissed him quickly and softly on the lips. "And I told you, it doesn't matter as long as you're fine… I'll wait for you … " she said smiling to him.

Clark smiled warmly as he also kissed her softly on the lips. "I won't be long…"

----------------------------

Pete suggested they should go and talk somewhere quiet, so they ended up going to Crater Lake.

"So what the hell happened Clark?" asked Pete.

"Pete… I… don't…"

"Cut the crap Clark… It's me…"

"Well… the only thing I can tell you, is that behind what happened is Lex. I'm certain of it… and I'm going to expose him." Said Clark with determination.

Pete looked at him uncertain. "How you going to do that? Doesn't he own the Daily Planet?"

"Well yeah… but I have a back door…" said Clark with a smile.

Pete looked troubled. "Clark don't you think you're taking this a little too far? I mean I know that you never saw eye to eye with Lex and there were many times when as Superman you stopped people who "supposedly" worked for him or some part of Luthorcorp… but this is Lex Luthor we're talking about… I mean… I know he might be involved in some shady affairs… but the guy provides work for half the country…" Pete looked very uncomfortable "including me man…"

Clark looked at him puzzled. "Did he buy out your company?"

"Yeah… it happened about four months ago… " admitted Pete looking downcast.

"Pete… why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I know how you feel about the guy Clark!" said Pete defensively.

"But Pete… I might have been able to help… Why do you still work for him though? I thought you hated the guy…"

Pete looked at Clark a bit angrily. "Because Clark… Some of us have to live in the real world! We don't have superpowers, going around worrying about the world, the environment and such! I have my family to think of first Clark! A family who depends on me! Should I just throw all that I have tried to achieve away, because I don't morally agree with everything Lex is doing?"

Clark looked at Pete a bit hurt. "Pete… I only asked because I knew how you felt about the man…"

Pete chuckled "Heh… I know… and now I depend on him… Ain't that funny? … He made me an offer to top it off…" Pete with tears in his eyes got out of his pocket a small box. As Clark looked at him quizzically, Pete opened it and Clark was immediately hit by nausea, as he felt his knees give way and he stumbled to the ground. Pete knelt down next to him as he now cried. "I'm sorry Clark… but he made an offer I just couldn't refuse man…"

Clark looked at him unable to understand what was going on. "P… Pete? What did you do?"

"I did not betray your identity Clark… I could have done that… But it would jeopardize far too many people, like Chloe and Lana and her daughter, and I couldn't do that… but you have to understand… Lex just wants to talk to the other you… and I know that there's only one way that can happen… I'm sorry Clark…" Pete took out a syringe filled with a red liquid. He moved the green kryptonite next to Clark's arm, and then he stuck the syringe in Clark's arms emptying its contents into Clark's system. He then closed the box with the kryptonite and put it in his pocket. Clark remained down on the ground for a while, before he lift his head and looked at Pete smiling.

Pete backtracked a bit. "Clark… I did it for all our sakes man… You have to see it…"

Clark stood up and dusted himself off. Then he turned to Pete and with lightning fast speed grabbed him by the throat. "You know I could snap your neck like a twig right here for betraying me like that. … But I won't do it, because … well you set me free…" said Clark with a chuckle as he let go of Pete's throat.

"Clark… Lex says that he can offer to you your heart's desires if Superman decided to just consider his offer… Go talk to him and see for yourself Clark…"

Clark smiled wickedly at Pete. "Well… Clark ain't going nowhere… Kal El though will consider his offer." And with that he took off to the sky.

------------------------------------

Pete walked to his car which he had parked out of Lana's apartment, wiping the tears from his eyes. As he hurriedly opened the door of his car, Lana got out to greet him. "Pete!"

Pete though did not answer and tried to avoid her worried look. He got in the car and started the engine.

"Pete! What's going on? Where's Clark?" said Lana as she became increasingly worried.

And just before he drove away, Pete turned to look at Lana with tears still running down his face. As he looked at her he mouthed to her "I'm sorry" and then he was off, leaving Lana behind dreading to think of what might have happened.

"Oh my god! What have you done Pete?" she said as tears threatened to fall down her beautiful face.

-------------------------------------

Kal El flew towards Metropolis to meet with Lex Luthor, as Clark Kent was slowly becoming a distant memory.

To be Continued…


	26. My world

**My world **

About 4 months ago

Pete woke up early that day feeling better than he had in a long time. He had just bought a new house the other day, he was the manager of the most successful KIA dealership in the country (at least that's what the headquarters kept telling him), he had a beautiful wife who loved him a lot and 4 wonderful kids who were the world to him.

He entered his office and was greeted by his partner, Norman Eastwood. "Hey Pete..."

"Morning Norman"

"Take a look at this Pete..." said Norman as he handed him a fax.

Pete started reading it with growing foreboding. It informed them that the KIA dealerships in the USA were now a part of the greater "family" of Luthercorp, who was just starting to take a central role in the automobile industry.

Pete looked at his partner worried.

"What the hell? When did we get this?"

"It was just in this morning. Shit Pete! ...I mean... do you think they'll start making cutbacks and stuff?"

"How the hell should i know Norman?" asked Pete who was starting to get increasingly worried about that very same thing.

"I thought that you might know more... you know... since you knew the guy back in the days..."

"I knew the guy in high school man... haven't talked to him since then..."

"Pete i'm freaking out here... i mean i just bought a boat man... a friggin' boat! I can't possibly suffer a cutback now!"

Pete looked at his partner annoyed. "A boat? I bought a house for my family! Have a little perspective before you go crying about and moaning about a boat!" shouted Pete as he left the office and slammed the door behind him.

Two days Later

Pete still hadn't heard a word about what the new status quo of the company would be. His wife, Anne, approached him and sat next to him on the couch.

"Honey... don't worry... even if the worst case scenario happens..."

Pete exploded. "Anne, the worst case scenario is me without a job!"

Anne put her hand around him. "Even if that happens... you have the best reputation in the city... other dealerships would kill in order to have you. And besides... worst comes to worst... i'll take that job they offered me in that college in NY."

"No! I will not have my family separated or living on the road constantly."

The phone interrupted their conversation.

"Hello?"

"Pete... Hello ... this is Lex Luthor..."

The next day

Pete walked in to the large building of Luthorcorp which was the largest one in Washington. Lex had invited him there to talk, which made Pete even more nervous than he already was. Meeting Lex had become almost synonymous as meeting the president.

As the receptionist checked his name to find the arranged appointment, Pete looked around him and took in his surroundings. The whole place was a symbol of power, showing to the whole world quite blatantly who Lex Luthor was and what he stood for.

Pete took a deep breath as he stood outside Lex's door. He smiled at the irony. When he was younger in Smallville, he always hated it how people around him used to suck up and bend before Lionel and Lex. His young and free spirit, couldn't accommodate such notions. In fact back then it made him feel very proud that he was one of the few people to stand up against Lex and Lionel and not show them the slightest bit of respect.

And now he found himself in a position he felt very uncomfortable in. His future was very much in Lex's hands and the worst part was that now it wasn't just about him. If it were, he considered himself proud enough to walk into that room, spit Lex in the face and storm out of there feeling better than ever.

But now the lives of his wife and his children, also depended on how this would go. No, this was not a time for rash and rebellious behaviors. Now was the time for a cynical survivalist mentality.

He looked downcast. He took one more deep breath and entered the office of Lex Luthor.

To be continued...


	27. The gambler

**The Gambler**

Lex got up from his chair when he saw Pete entering his office and went to greet him with the smile.

"Pete! Long time no see…" said Lex as he shook his hand.

Pete looked very uncomfortable, but managed to put on a smile.

"Hello Lex…"

"Please come… sit…" said Lex as he pointed to the chair in front of his desk."

"Imagine that…" mused Lex. "We haven't seen each other for almost 16 years and I find out you're working for one of my newly acquired companies…" said Lex with a chuckle.

Pete was feeling very nervous. Nowadays he only knew what the media said about Lex and what Clark or Chloe would say about him. He almost had no idea who this man really was.

"Lex… I don't mean to be rude, but why did you invite me all the way here… from what I know, it's harder for someone to meet you than it is the president…"

Lex chuckled. "Whoever said that obviously has never tried to meet the president… believe me, it's much harder… But to answer your question, I know how people react when the company they work for is bought… They fear for their jobs… it's a natural reaction… well knowing this and after seeing how your company was doing, I decided to talk to you in person… for old times sake…"

"Oh… thanks… I guess…" mumbled Pete, still not sure of where this is going.

"Well Pete… I wanted to personally assure you, that you have nothing to fear… In fact after consulting with some of my colleagues… I think I have some very good news to give to you…"

Pete looked at Lex curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Pete… your branch, was doing better than any other KIA dealership in the country. Not only sales- wise… but your organization of the place, is just amazing… such efficiency is hard to find nowadays… Plus everyone in the company speaks very highly of you…"

Pete couldn't help but smile with everything Lex was telling him.

"Umm… thanks Lex… I try my best…"

"I know you do… which is why we're thinking of making you the West Coast manager, of KIA." Said Lex with a broad smile.

Pete was stunned silent. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. "Did you just say West Coast manager?"

"yes I did… we're going to make the company a bit more centralized and we're planning on opening the West Coast Headquarters here in Washington… so I think it's a major opportunity for you… plus you won't have to relocate."

Pete had a wide smile on his face as he almost stammered. "I… I don't know what to say… I mean I didn't expect anything like this…"

"Well just say yes…" said Lex with an amused smile.

"Yes. Of course I agree… Oh My God… I can't believe this…"

"I've got to tell you though… The headquarters will become operational in about 5-6 months, so until then things will remain as they are… I hope that's ok…"

Pete found himself extremely happy. A day ago he was afraid of losing his job and now he found himself with a promotion he never would expect. 

**A month later**

Pete waited outside Lex's office for the second time in a month. He thought about how things change so dramatically. Back in his younger days he couldn't stand Lex, a month ago he was waiting here dreading of what he would hear and now he felt a strange of satisfaction, that he was meeting Lex Luthor personally for the second time in a month. His partner was very impressed for sure as were many other employees in his company. And he hadn't even told them about his impending promotion yet, thought Pete with glee.

He entered Lex's office with sure steps and he went and shook his hand warmly.

"Hello Lex…"

"Nice to see you again Pete… Take a seat… I wanted to discuss with you any ideas you might have about the new headquarters we are planning."

Pete was caught by surprise. "Really? … Umm… you caught me unprepared… how much time do we have?"

Lex smiled. "Don't you worry about that, I'm free all the way to the afternoon, so I'm all yours…"

They spent the next two hours discussing of ways to make the new headquarters work more efficiently, and Pete never felt more needed and more useful in his life before. He really felt like his ideas were appreciated and actually needed. It was very satisfactory for him to say the least.

After they finished talking about the headquarters, Lex changed the subject.

"So how is Clark, Pete?"

Pete looked uncomfortable. He knew that Clark and Lex were on opposing sides for the past years, and he wished he wouldn't have to pick a side.

"He's ok…"

"I know about his divorce Pete…"

"Well… yeah… that of course has put him down a bit…" admitted Pete.

"Look… I know that you must feel uncomfortable… what with Clark always going up against every single move I make with Luthorcorp, but I'm planning to put a stop to it…" said Lex with a smile.

Pete looked at him worried. "What do you mean?"

"I plan on making Clark an offer… I want him to join me along with a friend of his…"

Pete smiled. "Clark joining Luthorcorp? I… I don't see that happening Lex."

Lex chuckled. "Well… it will be hard convincing him that's for sure… But I'm really curious Pete… what's your take in all of this?"

Pete squirmed uncomfortably in his chair. This was exactly the kind of question he was afraid of. "Well… I …"

Lex interrupted him. "Listen Pete… You have nothing to worry about. You can speak as openly as you want. I won't hold your views against you. Besides, I'm a business man… I wouldn't lose such an important employee just because he didn't see things the same way I did…"

Pete sighed and tried to relax. "Well… I'll just say that I can see where he's coming from."

"Really? What do you mean exactly?" asked Lex inquisitively.

"Come on Lex… You're a smart guy… You know how Clark was raised. He could never agree with everything you did or I did for that matter. And to tell you the truth I can't blame him and I'm glad there are still people like Clark in the world."

"So you think I'm a tyrant, out to conquer the world?" said Lex chuckling.

"Well I wouldn't phrase it like that, but let's face it… you're taking over businesses with the speed of sound, and you're already the biggest corporation in the world."

"And that's bad why?"

"Well… "

Lex interjected. "I mean… Have I put more people out of work than I've given jobs to? No. Isn't the development rate in all the US higher the last 5 years largely thanks to Luthorcorp? Yes. Haven't I been giving in charities twice the sums all other organizations give put together? Yes. So where exactly is Clark's morality insulted? Because Luthorcorp is also in arms manufacture? Or because certain subsidiaries of mine have from time to time bended the rules a bit without my knowledge?"

"Look Lex… I'm not saying otherwise… But you have to admit that so much power given to one man is not always the best solution, is it?"

"Why not? Pete from the beginning of time people needed leaders. People above the ordinary who could carve a path into the future! In ancient times the strongest one of the tribe would always be considered the leader to guide all the rest. You think that just because so much time has passed, people all of a sudden don't need leaders? But they still look for leaders every day of their lives. Be they politicians, Hollywood stars, Musicians, public figures they can turn to for guidance!"

"You may be right with this, but don't forget Lex that your father gave you Luthorcorp!"

Lex chuckled. "You're right… I'm not one of those "from rags to riches stories". But do you know who Philip the Second is?"

Pete looked at him strangely. "Umm… not sure who exactly he was, a Greek general or something?"

Lex smiled. "Close but no prize. Do you know who Alexander the Great was?"

"Of course."

"You've proven my point Pete. Philip was Alexander's father, and he was the one who turned Macedon into a powerful kingdom. He also organized the army that Alexander later used. He was a great King and a great general, there is no doubt about that. But he wasn't Alexander. Alexander took the strong kingdom of Macedon and made it into the greatest empire the world has ever known. He is the one people remember!"

"Ok… you are right with this, but still in your quest for creating this great empire with Luthorcorp, other companies and people have to be defeated, isn't that right?"

"Yes but if they are defeated it means, that they were not fit to lead! I do not destroy Pete! I do exactly as Alexander did. I incorporate, providing better leadership and a better future."

Pete could see the reason behind what Lex was saying, as he himself had felt the effects of Lex's leadership, but the way he spoke about himself scared him a bit.

"Even Superman… He has meddled in my business far too many times, but I've got to hand it to him that he is one of those rare individuals fit to lead. What I don't appreciate though is that instead of embracing that fact and acting like a true leader to the people, he acts like a hypocrite."

Pete now was confused. "How do you mean?"

"He has publicly accused me many times that I try to control people's opinions and lives, when he himself does exactly the same. He plays God. His word is gospel to many simple folk, simply because of who he is and what he can do. Isn't that swerving the opinion of people? And he also interferes whenever he feels something is wrong. Isn't that controlling people's lives? I mean… what happens if he eventually starts believing that the US government is doing something wrong? Will he interfere there too? If he acted more like a leader and embraced that role, I would be all for him! I would definitely want him by my side!"

Pete remained thoughtful trying to take in everything Lex had said. He admitted to himself that he was indeed a bit confused.

**Two days before the accident in Nevada…**

Pete was staying in Metropolis for a couple of days. He was visiting some clients of his and trying to set up a new Network for the new beginning he was about to make. Lex called him and they arranged to meet, in Luthorcorp Plazza.

Pete entered Lex's office very upbeat.

"Morning Lex…"

"Pete… always a pleasure." Said Lex with a smile as they shook hands.

"So… Pete how's the networking going?"

"Very good actually… I'm pretty excited about it to tell you the truth. It's going to turn out way better than we anticipated."

Lex smiled satisfied. "That's always good to hear. Pete… I have to request a favor… It's not something I ask with a light heart, but I think you might be able to help."

"Shoot…" said Pete with a smile.

"Well… Pete… I want you to convince Clark to talk to Superman."

Pete widened his eyes in surprise. "What?"

"I know he is supposed to be your best friend and I'm sure he's told you a lot about Superman… I just want a chance to present Superman with my offer. Nothing more."

"Lex… I… I don't think I can…"

"Pete listen to me… I've already talked to Clark and he said he'd consider it. I just want you to give him a little nudge. I'm not asking you to do do anything wrong here… I just want a fair chance to explain to Superman what my plans are and what I envision."

"Please… Lex… don't put me in this position…" said Pete feeling very uncomfortable to be put in the middle of something like that.

"Pete… I'm not pressuring you. If you don't want to do it… don't… but just imagine what the possibilities are here! Me and superman together. All I'm asking is to consider it…"

**An hour after the accident in Nevada.**

Pete was packing his bags and getting ready to return home when he was interrupted by a phone call.

"Hello?"

"Pete!" Lex was on the other end and it was clear that he was very upset.

"I'm sorry to do this man, but I'm forced to this!"

"What do you mean Lex?"

"Remember what I asked you to consider two days ago? Well… time's up! I'm sorry Pete but it has come very imperative that I meet Superman today! I think that someone has convinced him to work for them and he is really hurting me… I need to see him now… I don't care how you do it, I don't care what you do… I want you to convince him to consider my offer and join with me! And I'm also afraid of what I will have to do with Clark now."

"Lex What do you mean?"

"Superman has averted an accident that happened this morning and the news are already linking me to the accident. If as I imagine someone put Superman to this, then they will surely try to make it seem as though I was to blame for all that and I was somehow involved, which of course will mean that Clark will surely try to write a story about it. I will not have any of that."

"Lex… This is crazy…. I can't…"

"Pete… as I told you… I'm sorry but there is no question about it… I will see him tonight… I don't want to stoop so low as to use threats Pete, as I thought we were seeing eye to eye this past month, so please don't force me to use threats. Just find a way to do it. If you require any kind of help, visit the lab we have on Luthorcorp plaza. The head scientist there, Jason, will help you in any way that he can. We have been studying certain things about Superman and you might find things that will help you there. Pete… I'm counting on you… as is your family…" with that Lex hang up.

Leaving Pete in a panicked state and not knowing what to do. He knew that there was no way he could get the position Lex had offered him, if he didn't do as he asked, and he also feared what else Lex would do. He also feared of what Lex could do to Clark. But how could he convince Clark to go see Lex. There was no way he could do something like that. There was no way that everyone could come out on top. Unless he put his money on a wild card. Someone who could consider Lex's proposal and if worst came to worst, wouldn't hesitate to do what was necessary to protect himself and those close to him. And that someone was Kal – El.

To be continued...


	28. In the middle

**In the Middle**

Back to the present…

As Pete was leaving Smallville, a black limousine drove past him and cut him off. Pete hit the breaks immediately. Two big guys came out of the limousine. And stood outside Pete's car.

"Mr. Ross… will you please step out of the car." Said one of the guys as he held a police badge to Pete.

Pete who was already a nervous wreck from what had happened with Clark, almost panicked, but then he tried to keep his composure and opened his door.

"What is this about?" he asked stepping out of the car.

One of the men went and opened the door of the limousine as he motioned for Pete to get in. Pete hesitated at first but decided to enter nonetheless. They were the police after al. But that thought didn't hold for long as he saw Lionel sitting in the limousine.

"Mr. Luthor?" he said surprised.

Lionel looked at him dead serious. "Yes Mr. Ross, I'm alive… I'm sorry but I don't have time for pleasantries. What have you done to Clark Kent?"

Pete started to realize slowly that he was way over his head in all this. "I… I'm not sure what you're talking about."

Lionel leaned in closer and whispered menacingly. "I know about Clark's secret Mr. Ross… He and I had an understanding about what needed to be done and now you've come here and meddled into my affairs. So I'll ask you again… what have you done to Clark Kent?"

Pete swallowed hard as he wasn't sure how exactly to react. But then he remembered what Lex had told him earlier over the phone. "So Lex was right… Clark is working for you isn't he?"

"So you have been talking and working with Lex… Mr. Ross… I'm a peaceful man, but this is a very serious affair you've got yourself in the middle of… so I will not hesitate to resort to whatever means necessary to convince you to tell me what you did with Clark Kent… And I'm certain you realize I'm being completely honest with you…"

"I… all I know… is that he is on his way to talk to your son." Said Pete.

Lionel remained thoughtful for a minute. "why would he do that? … Are you being completely honest with me Mr. Ross… Did you by any chance trick him into going there?" asked Lionel slyly.

Pete immediately felt the sting of guilt hitting him hard. He had betrayed the trust of his best friend. But a lot was in stake. "What do you want Mr. Luthor?"

"What I want is none of your business and quite frankly too complicated for the likes of you to understand. The fact is that Clark must not speak with Lex. Have you told Lex of Clark's secret Mr. Ross?"

"No…" said Pete hesitantly.

"Good… Good… But knowing Lex, he surely has something up his sleeve, to try and convince Superman to join him."

"so this is just another game of power between you and your son isn't it?" asked Pete with disgust.

"Game? You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about Mr. Ross, so please save yourself the embarrassment of trying to grasp what I or my son are doing." Lionel looked at Pete with contempt. "Let me guess… you're doing this for Lex because he promised to give you something… but that alone wouldn't do the trick now would it… You're too proud for that… so he probably tried to win your trust up till now… and you thought it was about you all this time eh? The fact that you are Clark's friend who in turn, as Lex knows, is Superman's personal reporter, never crossed your mind now did it…" Lionel chuckled. "So simple people… Lex now figured that if he got Superman on his side, apart from all the other benefits he would get, he could even turn this potential disaster, that the accident is, to his advantage. Plus… as they say… keep your friends close and your enemies closer…"

Pete felt his blood boil, but most of all he felt ashamed that he couldn't measure up to being Clark's best friend.

Lionel turned to Pete with determination on his face. "We have to fix this… Tell me now what exactly happened with Clark, if you value your friendship with him at all…"

Metropolis

Clark landed on top of Luthorcorp plaza. He looked around him at Metropolis almost spreading at his feet. _Yes… that's how it should be… I could have this city at my feet… at my beck and call… bah… I'm thinking too small… I could have this whole world eating from the palm of my hand… Heh… Emperor Kal-El… doesn't sound too bad… and Lana will be by my side as Queen… mmm…. I've got to go see Lana soon… I have a few ideas of how to spend our time until that happens… _Thought Clark as he had a sly smile on his face. _But let's see first what Lex wants… he could prove quite useful after all… _

Clark flew downwards and floated outside of Lex's office. He saw that the lights were out and only his desk light was on, as Lex sat on his chair studying something.

_Hmm… Perfect… just as I would want it…_ thought Clark as he entered the office from an open window that was there.

He stood on the far side of the room from Lex surrounded by shadows. Lex only realized that someone else was in there, when Clark sat on a couch.

"Who is there?" asked Lex as he got up to turn on the lights.

"Relax Lex… and don't turn up the lights." Said Clark, changing his voice a bit so that Lex wouldn't recognize it.

"Superman…" said Lex making out the suit in the darkness. "How did you get in here?"

Clark smiled and pointed towards the open window in the back.

"Oh…" chuckled Lex, who tried to make out Superman's facial features but failed as it was quite dark. "So… why do you want the lights turned off?"

"I like it that way…"

"Yes… So I've noticed… You even avoid the cameras of the media that are chasing after you."

Clark chuckled. "What can I say… I'm shy…"

"Fair enough…" said Lex with a smile. "I'm glad you decided to hear me out. I pulled all the stops to have this arranged you know."

Clark chuckled again. "Oh… I know…"

Smallville

After Pete told Lionel about what happened, Lionel remained silent trying to figure out a way to put a stop to this. "How long will that red kryptonite liquid affect him?"

"I'm not sure… Jason… Lex's head scientist, didn't know what it did, but they tested this in animals and it didn't have any effect on them. The traces remained in the animals' blood for about one to two days. So I don't know how long it will remain in his blood? I hope it will have dissipated by tomorrow." Said Pete downcast.

"Hoping is not good enough Mr. Ross. We will assume that it will remain in his blood indefinitely, and try and find a solution to our problem based on that fact."

Lionel was interrupted by voices from outside the limousine. Pete immediately recognized the voice of Lana.

"I'm a friend of Pete's and this is his car, so tell me where he is." Said Lana to the big guy standing outside the limo.

Lionel smiled, as if he had found the solution to his problem and opened the door to the limo as he stepped outside.

"Mrs. Lang… So glad to see you. We need to talk."

Metropolis

"So Lex… I'm all ears…" said Clark still sitting at a distance from Lex.

"Ok… Um… I want you to join me. It's as simple as that. I now that in the past, you have encountered some… troublemakers… in Luthorcorp, and that's exactly why I want you to join me… I want you to help me turn a new page for this corporation… help me get rid of all the parasites and raise Luthorcorp to new heights… make it more into what the people want to have as their leaders… What do you say? You and me… The Leaders for a new era…"

"I like what you're really thinking, but you don't have to throw in that 'turning a new leaf' and 'going clean' bs just for my sake." Said Clark with a smile.

"It's not bs Superman… I really want that…" said Lex seemingly dead serious.

Clark laughed. "Come on Lex… You don't want that and I know it… and to tell you the truth… I don't much care about it either…"

Lex looked at Superman inquisitively. "Is that so? Since when?"

"Since today…"

"And how may I ask did this come about?"

"You could say… I myself am turning a new leaf… I'm just so sick of being a slave to the world's needs… I just believe it's high time the world served my needs for a change…" said Clark smiling.

Smallville – Lana's house

Lana sat on the couch thoughtful, trying to take in what she had just heard. Opposite her sat Lionel who looked at her expectantly and Pete who looked down towards the floor trying to avoid Lana's look.

"I can't believe you…" said Lana through gritted teeth. "That was the one thing you had to do as his friend… the one thing… protect him and his secret… You selfish…" as Lana was getting angrier and tried to stand up and hit Pete, Lionel interjected by standing up and holding her.

"Lana… this is not the time for this… we don't have much time… we must act quickly and get Clark to leave Lex's office… now… I don't know how different Clark gets when under the influence of this red Kryptonite, but if what Pete has told me is accurate… I wouldn't trust myself, Pete or anyone else to remain unhurt if they confronted him. But I'd bet my life, that he wouldn't do anything to you."

Lana sat down and looked at Lionel uncertain. "I… I don't know… he… gets really violent when under the influence of red kryptonite…"

"Lana… he has been in love with you ever since high school… that's not something you encounter everyday… and from what I get this red Kryptonite, doesn't transform him into a different person. He is still Clark Kent… isn't that right?"

"I… I don't know… I guess…" answered Lana still uncertain.

"Lana the only way we can get him out of there without letting him finish his conversation with Lex, is if an emergency concerning you happens. After he gets here, the only person who can control him, I believe is you… Do this for his sake…"

Lana knew she had to do it. She had to do it for him and she realized that she was indeed the only person who could get to him in the state he was now in.

To be Continued…


	29. Hate myself

**Hate myself**

"So what do you say Superman? Do we…"

Lex was interrupted by the phone in his office ringing. "Excuse me for a while Superman…" he said as he answered the phone.

"Whoever it is I'm really busy… Pete? … What do you want? … No it will have to wait… I said No…"

"Give me the phone Lex…" said Superman.

"No it's ok…" said Lex as he tried to get rid of Pete.

"I heard him say he wants to talk to me and I say give me the phone…" said Superman with his hand extended waiting for the phone.

Lex hesitated for a while. Clark chuckled. "This is not open for debate Lex."

"Ok hold on Pete…" Lex threw the portable phone towards Clark.

"What do you want Pete?" asked Clark and then with the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of Lex going to press the button for open hearing in his machine. "Don't even think about it!" said Clark menacingly without even turning to look at Lex. Lex retracted his hand and sat down on his chair with a sigh.

"So what do you want Pete?"

"Clar… Superman I was just at Lana's and Laura's missing… Lana is a wreck she can't find her anywhere… We're worried that something might have happened to her…"

Clark remained silent for a while. Then with a sigh he said: "Fine… I'll be there…"

He hang up the phone and threw it back to Lex.

"What? You can't leave now…" said Lex in protest.

Lex chuckled as though what Lex said was ridiculous. "Of course I can and I will… This will have to wait…" with that he flew straight out of the window.

Lex felt his anger swelling and he slammed his fist on his office. "Damn you Pete! What's your game? Well… at least I didn't have to use this…" said Lex as he took out a small box with kryptonite in it.

---------------------------------

As Clark was flying towards Smallville, he felt very confused. _Why did I leave? This could have proven very profitable… But then again what if Laura's hurt… What am I thinking? So what? … But it would devastate Lana… argh… well… she owes me big time for this… Of course I can think of many ways for her to repay me… _thought Clark with a big grin on his face.

---------------------------------

Smallville – Lana's house

Lana is pacing nervously in her house. Then she turns to Pete. "Ok… Pete… Laura is next door to my neighbor Mrs. Harrison… Go there and stay there with her, ok?"

Pete just nodded affirmatively and exited the house. Lionel then approached Lana. "Lana listen… as we don't know for how long this will continue to affect him, it may be required that we take it out of him. If that is required, then only you can convince him to go through with it… and since I got you into this mess… take this…" said Lionel as he handed Lana a small beeper.

"What's this for?" asked Lana confused.

"If at any point you think that you can't do this, or things are getting dangerous press this and my men will come in here as quickly as they can to help in any way they can…"

"I won't be using that." Said Lana with determination on her face. "Cause it will mean that either your men will get hurt or Clark will get hurt and I won't have that."

Lionel looked at Lana with an admiring smile. "I can understand why he was always so in love with you. You are an amazing young woman Lana. You are very brave and I think you'll be alright." With that Lionel turned around and exited the house, leaving Lana alone and feeling more and more anxious and nervous. She wasn't sure how Clark would react to her and she was scared of finding out.

----------------------------------------

Clark knocked on Lana's door and she hesitantly opened it.

The moment he saw her Clark got a big grin on his face, he grabbed her and kissed her passionately. Lana felt very awkward, as she was caught by surprise by this.

When he broke the kiss Clark looked at her with a sly smile. "Mmm… I missed you… Don't worry about a thing babe, I'm here now… So... where did you see Laura for the last time?"

Lana swallowed hard. She had thought about whether to play on with this scenario or come clean, and she decided that there was no point in dragging this more.

"Um… Clark… I…"

Clark interrupted her. "First… don't call me that… Please… it's almost insulting… Kal will do fine for now… and second… Laura's not missing is she? I did a quick scan and saw her in the house next door playing around with Pete."

Lana felt really scared now. That was the moment she wasn't sure about. How he'd react when he found out she had lied to him. She thought that if that went well, then she'd be alright.

"Yes… sorry about that…"

"I would ask you why all this… but it's pretty obvious what's going on, so I won't bother… But now that the house is Laura-free for the moment… what do you say we heat things up a bit" said Clark with a suggestive grin, as he pulled her in to his arms and kissed her intensely.

Lana broke off the kiss. "Cla… Kal… you know what's going on and you're alright with it?" asked Lana a bit surprised.

"Well… I didn't say I was alright with it… I will still have to punish you later on…" said Clark as he raised his eyebrows suggestively at Lana. "… I just think that there's no reason why I should let an opportunity like this go to waste… besides… Lex isn't going anywhere… he'll still be there tomorrow… you are my priority now…" said Clark as he picked Lana in his arms and begun to walk towards the bedroom.

Lana panicked for a moment. "Kal… please put me down we have to talk…"

Clark stopped and looked at her pleading face. Despite his powerful urges and the desire he felt for this woman, he just found himself unable to say no to her. With a sigh he put her down.

Lana looked at him puzzled but a bit relieved. "Thank you…"

Clark looked at her expectantly. "So… What do you want to talk about?"

Lana walked towards the couch. "Let's sit down first…"

"Look Lana… I have to warn you… if this is about you wanting to help me be rid of the red K, don't waste your breath… I'm better off like this and I promise you so will you…" he said with a grin.

"But… this is not you… this is not who you truly are…" said Lana with desperation in her voice.

"That's where you're wrong! This is the real me! No inhibitions, no barriers! Pure Kal El! Just think about it Lana… If I was in charge all those years ago… there was no way in hell I would have let you go… You were the only good thing that happened in that poor fool's life and he let you go… for what? For a messed up life. For a messed up head and a messed up marriage! He was trying to save the world, when he couldn't even save himself or his marriage! And you're telling me you prefer a fool weakling like that?"

"That's not true! Clark…" Lana was interrupted by Clark.

"Not true? He was understandably in love with you and yet he chose to leave you behind to pursue what? Helping the world? He's been doing that for almost 13 years now right? Is world peace any closer now than it has been before? Are the poor in the world fewer than they were before? Is there less crime in the world? Well… maybe it is a bit reduced in Metropolis, but that's about it! So what exactly has he done? What was it that he achieved that was worth leaving you behind for? He made your life and his miserable so he deserves to slowly just fade away."

To be Continued…


	30. Angels and Devils

**Angels and Devils**

Lana felt really emotional with everything Clark said. She sat down in the couch and buried her face in her hands. Clark smiled lightly and approached her.

"You know I'm right Lana… and I tell you… you don't need him…" he put his hand on her shoulder. "You know I'm right…"

Lana lift her head and with tear stained eyes looked at him. "Clark…"

Even though she called him Clark he didn't correct her. "… I know that you're frustrated with everything that's been going on… I know you feel guilty about many things, because that has always been your nature… But you can't take the blame for everything that's been going wrong in the world… You're trying to set an example and that's more than anyone has ever done in the past… You stand for what you believe in… But it's not up to you to change the world… No one should be responsible for single handedly saving the world cause that would make the rest of us voluntary slaves to his power or just observers of our own lives while that person would take care of everything for us… You can only set the example with your actions and with being who you are… but allow the rest of the world the right to be the masters of their fates as well as to own up to their share of responsibility for when things go south…" Clark turned his head away seemingly annoyed by what he heard, but Lana softly turned his head so that he looked straight into her eyes. "You may have made mistakes as have I… it's only human to do that… And I must admit that some of those mistakes hurt both you and me… But that's exactly why I've always loved you… all these things, your successes, your failures, your kind heart, your strength of character, even your compulsive protective nature… all these make you into the man I love…"

Clark looked at her intensely, but his internal struggle was now very obvious. He seemed a bit confused and even lost. Lana placed her hand on his cheek. "Please… come back to me…" she said with a choking voice.

Clark sat up abruptly and turned his back to Lana, grabbing his head with his hands. Lana who got worried, got up and walked up to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Clark…?"

Clark then spun around abruptly, and grabbed her smiling. "I told you my name is Kal" he then leaned in and kissed her forcefully.

"No!" was all Lana managed to say before he sealed her mouth with his lips. Lana resisted it but he was holding her still with his powerful grip. She fought him and as she broke the kiss she instinctively slapped him hard. "I said No!"

Clark enraged, grabbed her with one hand and raised the other in a striking position. "Never hit me again!" he shouted as he readied himself to hit her. Lana didn't turn away and she didn't scream. She just looked at him with a mixed look of surprise, disappointment and fear and with her eyes still tear-stained. As Clark saw her like that he froze. His face was again a mask of confusion. His raised hand started trembling and he softly placed it on her cheek. "Lana… I… I would never hurt you…" he said in a stammering voice. Lana's face though hadn't changed and he couldn't bear to look at the fear and disappointment in her eyes. Clark fell to his knees, buried his face in his hands and started to sob violently. His internal struggle and all his frustrations had gotten the best of him.

Lana looked at him and her features softened. She placed her hand softly on his head and stroked his hair. She then kneeled down next to him and with slow and unthreatening motions she took Clark in her arms, as he kept on letting it all out.

They remained there for many minutes and Lana just held him, trying to soothe him. After a while Clark had stopped crying and just remained there in Lana's arms. He then kissed her hand. "Thank you…"

Lana looked at him smiling. "I didn't just do it for you, you know… I also did it for myself… Clark I never want to lose you again…"

Clark smiled at her and then he lift his head and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "My heart, my soul and all that is me… have always been yours and will always be yours…" said Clark really emotional as he kissed her again. Lana despite her tears, gave him a very happy smile, that sent Clark's heart soaring.

He meant every single word he said to her. So he remained there in her arms grateful for being allowed the blessing of her love.

To be Continued…


	31. Simple man

**Simple man**

After enjoying some moments just laying in Lana's arms, Clark got up with determination in his face.

"Go get Laura from next door and tell Pete I want to talk to him, meanwhile I'll go have a little chat with Lionel." He told Lana as he kissed her lightly on the forehead.

"How do you know where to find him?" asked Lana.

"He is in a limousine a couple of blocks from here with some of his men. I scanned them." Said Clark with a smile.

"What are you going to do?" asked Lana with worry in her voice.

"Don't you worry… I know what I'll do… I'll tell you about it after I talk with Pete… that is if you want…"

"I think I have to know Clark… I'm already involved in this…"

Clark felt the sting of guilt for bringing trouble again into Lana's life. Lana saw in his face what he was thinking. "Hey…" she said softly as she lift his head to look at her. "…Clark… it's not your fault… besides… I know you won't let anything happen to us right?" she offered with a smile.

Clark smiled back as he thought of Lana's unconditional devotion and love. He drew his strength from that love.

He then exited the house to go and talk with Lionel.

As he approached the limousine he saw, Lionel coming out smiling. "So… Clark… I can call you that right?"

Clark looked at him suspiciously. "How do you… Did you wire her place?"

Lionel put on his most innocent face. "I was just certain she would pull it…"

"Lionel…" said Clark menacingly.

"Fine… yes I did…" then he quickly added. "But it was for her own protection!"

Clark shook his head disgusted. "If I didn't owe you these past two saves… you wouldn't be smiling… Besides I'll remove anything you've put there…"

"I guessed as much…" answered Lionel with a smile. "But come we have much to talk about… let's not do that in the street… Let's go to Ms Lang's house…"

Clark raised his hand stopping Lionel in his tracks. "That house… along with his occupants… are way off limits for you… even though you went against my warning…"

Lionel cut in. "She was the only one who could…" Clark raise his hand again to stop him.

"As I was saying… even though you went against my warning… I will let it pass simply because it turned out for the best… But as of now… you've used up all the exceptions to the rule which is…" said Clark pausing so that Lionel would finish the sentence.

"Lana Lang and her daughter are not to be disturbed."

"Disturbed, talked to, looked at, thought of or anything… I'm glad we're clear on that. Now concerning what you asked of me… I decided I won't do it."

"What? And you're…" Lionel tried to protest.

"But!" Clark cut him off. "But I will write about Lex's involvement in the accident that happened, if you provide me with the documents. Take it or leave it."

Lionel looked disappointed and thoughtful. "Hmm… I guess that it must do…"

"I'm glad you think so… Do you have the documents with you?"

"No… I will send them to you tomorrow… besides… our window of opportunity is for your story to be printed in the paper that will come out two days from now. However you should inform Mrs. Lane to do a preliminary story on the events, before we drop the bomb."

"Fine… I'll call her for tomorrow's paper. Are you sure though, you'll be able to pass this by without Lex's consent on the Daily Planet's paper?"

"Heh… I may have been playing dead Clark… and i may be almost 65, but I still am Lionel Luthor."

--------------------------------------

Clark knocked at the door of Lana's house, only to be greeted by Lana holding little Laura in her arms.

"Look who it is Laura…" said Lana smiling.

"C'ark!" shouted Laura happily as she opened her arms for a hug. Clark smiled and took her in his arms. The sight of Laura smiling warmed his heart. "Here's my favorite girl in the world."

Laura looked at Clark curiously. "Not momma?"

Clark was temporarily stuck. He looked at Laura with eyed eyes and then at Lana, who also shared his confusion, but mixed with amusement. "Umm… Yes… your momma is also my favorite girl in the world…" said Clark a bit clumsily.

Laura suddenly smiled and started to giggle, as she hugged Clark again. Clark looked at Lana confused but smiling, while Lana was trying to suppress her laughter.

As he was hugging Laura, Clark's eyes drifted to the back of the living room, where he saw Pete sitting in a chair, looking glum downwards. Clark after kissing Laura on the chick went to give Laura to Lana as he was looking intently at Pete, but he still felt Laura not letting go. He turned to look at her curious to see why she hadn't gone to her mother's arms and he saw her waiting with her cheek turned towards him, the cheek he failed to kiss. Clark chuckled and kissed her. "T'ank yuu!" she sang happily as Lana took her back smiling.

Clark walked towards Pete, but Lana got hold of his hand and she leaned in to whisper to him. "Please go easy on him… he is a real mess... he regretted it the minute he did it…"

"I know Lana…"

Clark stood in front of Pete waiting for him to acknowledge his presence. "Hey" said Clark softly.

"Hey…" said Pete without lifting his head.

"So… do you want to go out and talk?"

"What's left to talk about Clark?" said Pete really dejected.

"Come on man… don't do this…"

"Do what Clark? I failed you!" said Pete a little too loud, at which point Clark grabbed his hand and leaned closer to him.

"Not in here!" said Clark gravely. "Let's go."

They both headed out towards the door. Before he went out, Clark went to talk to Lana. "Look… umm… I don't know how long we'll be and it's already late… I'll have to call Lois also afterwards to tell her what to write on tomorrow's paper, so… I guess I will see you tomorrow…"

"Why?" asked Lana seriously.

Clark was confused. "What do you mean why? Because… I want to see you…" said Clark not sure still what she meant.

Lana chuckled lightly. "That's not what I meant Clark… Why tomorrow and not tonight? Why don't you sleep here today?"

Clark was silent for a minute. "Are you sure about that?"

Lana nodded her head with a smile. "Plus it will certainly be safer for both Laura and myself. I mean with everything that's been going on…"

Clark kissed her on the lips tenderly and smiled warmly at her. "I would love to…" He then just stood there looking intensely at her. He suddenly leaned forward and kissed her passionately, pouring all his love and all his emotions for this woman into this one kiss that left both of them breathless. Breaking the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers as they both remained like that for a few seconds with closed eyes.

Then Clark whispered to her. "I don't think I will ever be able to find words to fully tell you what I feel for you."

Lana smiled sweetly at that. "You don't have to Clark… I know how you feel for me cause that's exactly how I feel for you…"

To be Continued…

ElleLang12- I'm glad you liked it, and no i don't watch the show you mentioned. The title is from the song (with the same title) by Dishwalla.

EternalStargater- Thnx for your comments. I'm glad you like Lana here. Don't you like her in general?

Obsessed4ever2Clana- Endless angst? There are some carefree moments here and there no? Glad you approve thoug:-) And i am continuing


	32. The Warmth

The Warmth

Clark and Pete were walking down the road towards Clark's house. Pete was silent and he seemed quite thoughtful in his depressed state. Clark didn't want to discuss anything out in the street, so he didn't say anything until they reached his house.

After they both got in, Clark turned to Pete casually. "Do you want anything to drink?"

Pete turned to him and hesitantly asked: "What do you got?"

Clark walked to the refrigerator. He looked inside and winced. "Hmm… a bit empty… but I do have a couple of beers here nonetheless. You want one?"

"Sure"

Clark threw one of the beers to Pete as he opened his and walked inside the living room. He sat on the sofa, as he saw Pete being more hesitant as to where he should sit. Finally he sat down opposite Clark on a chair.

"Look Pete… I'm not going to lie to you… I was very hurt by what you did, and to tell you the truth I don't think I can ever completely trust you again like I used to… but… I want to understand… I mean… why didn't you tell me anything if you were in trouble?"

"Because Clark… I really wanted that promotion Lex promised me and I knew the only way to get that is for you to go meet him like he wanted and consider his offer… to tell you the truth I kinda wished you'd accept the offer and…"

"And what Pete? We'd be all on big happy family working for Lex?" said Clark annoyed.

"I didn't say it was the right thing to do… but it was the only thing I could think of that had any chance of making everyone a winner…"

"Make you a winner you mean…"

"I panicked Clark! Ok… what do you want me to say…"

Clark looked at him surprised. "To tell you the truth I was expecting some sort of apology, but I'm not even sure whether even now you're sorry for what you did…"

"Of course I'm sorry for what I did Clark… Like I said it was a mistake! I just thought …" Pete paused and looked downwards. "…I don't know what I thought…"

Clark looked at him unsure of how to react or feel about his friend. "Listen Pete… I need to know that you're on my side… I mean… considering what you know about me… I … I mean I don't know what to do… What would you do If you were in my shoes?"

Pete looked up at him. "I would have kicked the crap out of me… but I'm hoping you're above those sort of things…"

Clark chuckled lightly. "Pete I need to know that you won't do anything else to interfere with my business with Lionel and Lex… I mean… I'll be honest with you… I would rather you stopped talking or seeing Lex…"

Pete looked at Clark in the eyes. "I'm not going to betray your trust ever again Clark… Even if it means losing my job, I will try to rise up to the task of being your friend. And I know that with what I did, things between us won't be the same… but to tell you the truth I want to do this mostly for my self! I want to prove to myself above anyone else that I can do this. Again Clark… I'm really sorry, but you have to understand that I never wished you harm…"

Clark looked at Pete dejected. "I know that Pete… I know that…"

--------------------------------

After Pete left for Washington this time, Clark spent the next hour on the phone with Lois, letting her know exactly what to write on tomorrow's paper. Nothing to revealing and cryptic enough to pave the ground for what he would write in his own article in two days.

When he finished talking to her he looked at his watch and saw that it was already half past twelve. He took out the key that Lana had given him before he left with Pete, and considered what he should do. He wanted more than anything to go and sleep at her place tonight, but he still wasn't sure if it was appropriate and if it would be good for Laura to see him there in the morning.

That led him to another thing that with everything that's been happening, he didn't have time to think about. _What am I going to do with this? I mean let's be honest, Lana is now a single mother… the only way this can go is to marriage… and… I mean… why not… I love her… and Laura… she is amazing… does it really matter that she is not my child? … I mean I'm crazy about both of them… It's the only rational thing to do… And probably the best decision I will have taken in my life… I bet mom would have been thrilled to know that… So I'll just wait till all this craziness subsides and tell her… I hope she feels the same way… I mean… I know she feels the same way… So I guess… it will be good for little Laura to try and get used to my presence… although I think she kinda likes me…_ Thought Clark with a grin.

Having made his decision, he went out the door and sped to Lana's house. He unlocked the door and walked in quietly. The lights in the house were dark and for a moment he considered whether he should go up and disturb Lana or just sleep in the couch. As he was trying to make up his mind, he saw a vision that made him forget all about his dilemma. Lana appeared at the top of the stairs wearing a tank top and boxers. He smiled from ear to ear as he just stood there looking at her. She looked incredible even in simple clothes like that. None of them said anything as Lana just stood there and looked at him smiling. Clark started going up the stair with determination. When he reached the step just below the top he looked her straight in the eyes. He lift his hand and stroked her cheek gently. Lana closed her eyes as she savored the sensation of his touch. Then he leaned in and kissed her tenderly. He then picked her up in his arms and went into her bedroom.

-------------------------------------

The next morning Clark woke up very early and as he looked at his side, he saw the most beautiful vision he could ever have hoped for, to be waking up next to. Lana was asleep peacefully and content next to him as he had his arm protectively around her. At that moment it occurred to him that he would consider himself to be the most blessed man in the world, if he could wake up to that image every morning from then on. Almost instinctively he wrapped his arm around her even more protectively, as though he wanted to shelter her from some unseen danger. But then it occurred to him how ironic it was, that even though he wanted to act as her protector and he was considered to be the protector of this world, this woman had saved him only this past week twice. He admired and loved her even more for that. He knew that whatever happened around him, he could always depend on her. Once more he felt tempted to fall back to cursing himself for spending so many years without her, but then he looked at her again and he couldn't help feeling extremely happy and lucky.

With his finger he softly brushed a strand of hair that was falling along side the gentle lines of her face. Feeling his gentle touch her eyes fluttered open and she smiled at him. "Mmmorning…" she said lazily as she tried to cuddle up closer to him.

Clark just smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "Morning beautiful. Can I just say… that I love you, more than I have loved anything in my life… and I feel like the luckiest guy in the world…"

Lana smiled sweetly at him. "I love you too… and can I just say that from now on I wish to be woken up like this and you'll say those exact words every time."

Clark chuckled. "Every time? I… I don't know… I mean… It was more like on the spur of the moment… to tell you the truth I sort of forgot what I said already… Who are you by the way?"

Lana feigned being in shock as she slapped him on the shoulder. "All those things you said last night were just so you could get me into bed weren't they? Get off of my bed!" then she turned her back to him in mock anger.

"Oh come on…" said Clark as he kissed her naked shoulders. "I didn't mean that… besides… I had already been in your bed… so…"

He didn't have time to finish his sentence as Lana turned around abruptly, with amused anger. "Ok! That's it! You're done for!" she climbed up on top of him and held his hands pinned to the bed as Clark chuckled.

"Wow… you're quite strong…" said Clark amused.

Lana raised her eyebrows with pride. Before though she could say anything else she saw Clark looking on straight behind her, with a strange expression in his face. She turned around and saw Laura standing in her doorway looking on.

To be Continued…


	33. Forever

**Forever**

Lana was almost mortified. She was stuck and didn't know what to say as she was looking at Laura with wide eyes.

"Good morning Laura." Said Clark coming in for the save.

Laura waved to him sleepily. "Goo monig C'ark"

"Hey sweetie." Said Lana finally. "We're just playing here with Clark."

Clark looked at her wondering _What the hell was that?_

Lana looked back at him almost saying _I panicked I didn't know what to say_

Then they both turned to see Laura standing very near the bed now looking a bit left out. "Wanna play.."

"You want to play with us?" asked Lana and Laura nodded her little head smiling.

Lana opened her arms and invited her little daughter on the bed. She started giggling and hurriedly climbed up to them and fell with force on Clark.

"Ooof… she's heavier than she looks when she charges on you." Said Clark with a smile. "Ok… come here you…" said Clark as he started tickling Laura and the little one burst out laughing happily.

Lana was silent for that moment just looking at her little daughter and Clark and she started getting very emotional as tears threatened to roll from her eyes. As Clark saw her misty eyes he got worried.

"Hey… are you alright?" he asked as he wiped with his finger the tear that was falling down her face.

Lana sniffed and a small laugh escaped her lips as she looked at Clark very moved but obviously happy. "I'm fine… I'm just… so happy…"

Clark smiled warmly at her as he stroked her cheek with his hand. Then he looked down and saw little Laura, who had crawled nearer to her mother, open her arms to Lana. "I play wit you mommy… don cly…"

Lana smiled happily as Laura tried to wrap her little hands around her. But Lana didn't wait she immediately started tickling Laura who again burst out laughing happily. You see tickling was Laura's weakness.

They spent the rest of the day all together in the house. They had breakfast and then Laura tried to explain to them the fine intricacies of the relationship between Bobby the turtle and Lenny the fox, as they watched cartoons with her. Clark was having a great time. He hadn't been so relaxed and happy in quite some time and he loved every minute of it. He was absolutely certain that that's what he wanted for the rest of his life.

At noon Laura felt a bit sleepy so Land went to put her to bed. As she was tucking her in she found the opportunity to ask her. "Honey… do you like Clark?"

"Yeah… C'ark play with me…" said Laura smiling.

Lana smiled satisfied. "So you like him being here with us?"

"Yes…" said Laura as she closed her eyes sleepily.

"Goodnight sweetie." Said Lana as she kissed Laura on the forehead.

She then went down to where Clark was still watching the cartoons. She smiled amused when she saw him looking on seemingly lost in thought or really into the cartoon he was watching.

"Wow… it must be a good cartoon…"

Clark turned to her. "I'm just trying to understand, why Lenny would actually hang out with Bobby… I mean it's not like they can do much together right?"

Lana chuckled. "Well… you've given it a lot of thought I see…"

Clark smiled as Lana sat beside him on the couch. "Well… It's Laura's fault really… she got me hooked…" they both chuckled, but then Clark took a more serious face. "But really Lana… I was thinking… This feels so right don't you think?"

Lana looked at him with understanding but didn't say anything else wanting him to say more.

"I mean… this is how it should be…" he said as he softly stroked her cheek and then leaned in to kiss her. "I have been thinking a lot about this lately… and…I know it's not fancy or romantic or anything… but I feel I've got to say it… Lana I want to spend the rest of my life like this… with you…"

Lana looked at him really emotional as she found herself tearing up again.

"You can never know what the past week has meant to me, what you have done for me and what you mean to me… but I want to spend the rest of my life making it up to you… making you as happy as you make me… both you and Laura…"

Lana couldn't find any words to say as she just looked at him really moved with tears in her eyes. "I don't have a ring or anything… but… will you make me the happiest man in the world by becoming my wife?" Lana was still tongue tied as she felt the emotions overwhelm her.

Clark seeing her not reply started babbling. "I… I'm sorry… I know it's a crappy way to ask you… I mean… what was I thinking? I don't even have a ring… and …"

"Shut up Clark." Said Lana smiling as she leaned in and kissed him very passionately, giving him a taste of how happy he had made her. Then breaking off the kiss she smiled sweetly at him. "I don't care about rings and fancy proposals Clark… It was perfect just you asking me… that's all that matters to me… my daughter and you…"

"That means… yes…?" asked Clark smiling.

"I love you Clark… and there's nothing I would want more than to spend the rest of my life with you… that's all I ever wanted…"

They kissed passionately and then just stayed in each other's arms, happier then they'd ever felt. No fancy proposals, no rings, no one else. Just the two of them surrounded by the love they felt for each other. Just as it should have always been.

To be continued…


	34. Burned out

Burned out

Clark spent the rest of the day with Lana and Laura having the time of his life. He was having such a good time that he forgot all about the whole Luthors affair. He was reminded though sometime in the afternoon by a phone call from Lionel.

They arranged to meet somewhere quiet and Lionel provided him with the necessary documents that proved Lex's involvement in the weapon test that took place in Nevada, as well as other experiments and tests, with the participation of shadow departments of the government.

After collecting all the necessary documents, Clark went to Metropolis to the Daily Planet and spent the rest of the night, till the early hours of the morning, writing the expose on Lex, with the help of Lois and Perry, who were absolutely thrilled with the amount of dirt they had on Lex and his side projects.

After he had finished Clark contacted Lionel and in turn he gave Perry the directions on how he should go about it. Of course Lionel demanded that his participation, as well as the fact that he was alive, was kept quiet.

Clark returned to Smallville that morning, to his new found family, where they spent another day together in laughter and happiness.

Three days ago

BVC News at 20:00

A few hours ago we got to be witnesses of a spectacular event. At approximately 08:00 (US Central time) a big cloud of unidentified substance started spreading in the Nevada desert. A tourist who was passing by the area managed to film what followed. Superman was quickly at the scene and he managed to contain it and then dissipate the cloud. But apparently it cost him. As you see here, Superman then fell to the ground and no one's sure what happened to him. There have been unsubstantiated reports of Superman sightings throughout the day, but none have been confirmed.

As to the big question of what caused that cloud to appear, according to our sources, it was caused by a new bio-weapon test. The CIA who were first on the scene and sealed off the entire area, refused to make any comments. An ex CIA agent though, that for obvious reasons wants to remain anonymous, told us earlier in the afternoon, that it was indeed a bio weapon test that was sanctioned by the ministry of Defense and carried out by Luthorcorp.

Of course these allegations were immediately refuted by Luthorcorp's spokesperson Mr. Josh Featherstone who said "Luthorcorp never tested and will not ever test bio chemical weapons on American soil." The defense ministry also issued a press statement saying: "The CIA and NSA are still looking into what happened. We still don't know for sure what caused that cloud, but we can safely say that it was NOT caused by any activity of this Department."

Most US media were quick to try to bury the event, as it is commonly known that they are of Luthorcorp's interests, but we'll try to keep you posted on this story.

Two days

BVC News at 20:00

After this morning's article in the Daily Planet by Lois Lane, debate has heated up as to who was behind yesterday's events. It is now widely accepted that the cloud was indeed caused by a weapon's test, but what that was and who carried it out are still unknown. We still haven't had any official confirmation, as the policy of "no comment", is used quite widely today, by both government officials and Luthorcorp.

In her article Mrs. Lane claimed that officials from the defense department were indeed involved, directly or indirectly, with this test and as well as another major business man. This has confused many as it was speculated that Luthorcorp was involved and Lane's use of words were interpreted by the majority of the US media to mean that Luthorcorp must not be involved after all and some other less prolific businessman than Lex Luthor is in to this.

Speculations then where thrown about and businessmen such as William Gaets, and Ruper Merdock were mentioned as financers of these potentially catastrophic tests.

Lane promised that tomorrow's paper would feature an expose on the whole deal. We will keep you posted…

Yesterday

BVC News at 20:00

After the shocking revelations on today's article in the Daily Planet by Clark Kent, the State Department issued the following statement: "We were appalled by today's revelation by Mr. Kent. We would like to say, that we were not aware that the officials named in Mr. Kent's article were involved in such activities with Mr. Luthor and measures will immediately be taken. Of course they will al be removed from their position. This administration will not tolerate such behavior and such activities by anyone not even a businessman like Lex Luthor. We categorically oppose any future endeavors such as this."

It is believed that the officials that were named will be used of course as sacrificial lambs to appease the public opinion that is threatening to turn against the administration.

Following today's revelation the stock-market suffered a similar breakdown to 1999s minor breakdown.

The Luthorcorp stock of course took the brunt of this fall, tumbling a whopping 40, after which all activity was somehow blocked stopping the further decrease of the stock. How or who authorized the block is yet to be revealed. One thing is for sure though, whoever blocked the activities of the stock surely saved Luthorcorp, as with the way the stock was decreasing, the experts say it would have surely meant financial destruction for Lex Luthor. There has yet to be any official statement from Luthorcorp and of course Mr. Luthor himself was nowhere to be found. It remains to be seen what will happen from now on, as it is rumored that after what happened, there are those in the administration who are pushing the President to severe all ties with the ambiguous business man and his company.

This was the worst blow that Luthorcorp and Mr. Luthor himself have suffered since, Lex Luthor took over the company from his father.

Today

Clark moved his stuff the previous night, in Lana's house, as his own house was now surrounded by reporters. He wanted to avoid them at all costs and although he didn't want to bring this trouble over Lana and Laura, it was Lana who insisted that he should come at her place and try to lay low. However she found it hilarious that Clark Kent one of the world's top reporters was now hiding from and avoiding his fellow reporters.

There had been a couple of reporters who had come by Lana's house (who obviously did some digging up about who she was) and asked her questions about Clark and whether or not they were an item currently, but she rebuffed them all saying how inappropriate it was to be asking people such questions.

BVC News at 20:00

The world of Business was shocked today after the revelation that Lex Luthor was no longer the CEO of Luthorcorp. From what we could gather someone who already owned a large percentage of the Luthorcorp stock, took advantage of yesterday's breakdown and they now own 43 of Luthorcorp making whoever they are, officially Luthorcorp's major shareholder. In the meeting that took place this morning in the Luthorcorp headquarters, it was announced to Lex by the board of Directors that he was being relieved from his position as CEO of the company. It is now clear that there has been a change in the head of Luthorcorp, and we will be waiting to see who the new CEO and obviously Luthorcorp's new head is.

Before all of you start feeling sorry for Lex Luthor, let's not forget that he is still one of the richest men in the world. It's just that his power was stripped away.

Umm…. Sorry… breaking news…. It seems the authorities are now looking for Mr. Luthor for questioning…. For what we don't know… we will keep you posted throughout the day…

To be Continued…

NOTE: Any misspellings of names were done deliberately cause it's just name similarity. They aren't who you think they are.


	35. Best of you

Best of you

Lana sat comfortably on the blanket, as she looked on at a sight that filled her heart with joy and love. Clark was putting Laura slowly in the water of Crater lake, as he was trying to teach her how to swim.

_This is so beautiful… I'm so glad we decided to take this pic nic today. Heh… they look so cute together… It's almost as if Clark was born for fatherhood… but what am I talking about? Considering who his parents were, it's no wonder he is so good at it… This is so right… this is how it should be… Too bad we lost all this time apart from each other… But… if we hadn't… then I probably wouldn't have Laura… I don't even want to think about how that would be… I mean… I wouldn't trade having her with anything… but Clark should have been her father… not that son of… well… he gave me Laura… so… he wasn't all crap…_

_And Clark proposed… He was so wonderful… Too bad we have to wait for all this crap with the Luthors to subside… but he's right… I don't want that moment to be clouded by the Luthors in any way… I wonder where he wants to get married? …At the state my finances are now, I certainly couldn't afford anything fancy… not that I would want anything fancy… All I care about is right here with me… Now that I think about it… I wouldn't mind getting married right here just the two of us… eh… unfortunately that's not how it works… heh… Laura could have been the witness… I wonder how she will take Clark actually living with us… She seems to like him a lot, and she said she liked having him around… Well if I had to pick a guy to be Laura's father, there's no one else in the world better suited than Clark… he'll be a wonderful father for her… Super I might say… heh…_

"Laura move your arms sweetie…" said Clark as Laura flailed her hands a bit awkwardly. Lana burst into laughter when she saw that.

Clark smiled. "Well… you're moving them alright." But as he didn't want to make her sad, he started moving her in the water.

Laura, when she realized she was moving she started laughing and didn't even move her arms or legs at all. "fast… fast…" she shouted through her laughter.

"Well… you see Laura… the point is to move your arms to go faster…" said Clark trying to reason with her.

"FAST!" shouted Laura again.

"Or we can do this of course…" said Clark obliging and moving Laura faster.

Lana meanwhile was laughing her heart out. "Oh… you think this is funny? She's very stubborn… I wonder where she got that from?" teased Clark.

"Hah…" she makes a motion of answering a phone. "Hello Kettle… This is Clark… You're black!"

"Hah… Hah… very funny..." and then admitted under his breath "Witty comeback." During his teasing with Lana though, Clark had slowed down, and Laura had to remind him.

"C'ark?"

"Hmm" mumbled Clark as he turned to her.

"FAST!"

"Oh right…" he picked up the pace again, only this time he also started making engine sounds, which caused Laura to laugh even harder.

"You're already spoiling her!" shouted Lana from the pic nic blanket laughing.

Clark turned to her. "Won't you join us already? I want to see that red bikini you shown me in the house."

Lana raised an eyebrow when she heard that remark. "Hold your horses mr. Kent… let's keep this PG…" she said smiling teasingly.

"Oh believe me I am… my R thoughts go a bit… well … a lot further than that…" he shot back smiling.

Lana feigned being shocked. "Clark… well you've insulted me, so now I won't come in at all and you won't see it."

Clark stopped what he was doing and turned to face Lana with puzzlement in his face. "Really?"

This of course produced a whine from Laura. "C'ARK…" she said in complaint.

Lana started giggling again. And Clark shot her an mock- evil look as he kept on moving Laura fast on the water.

-------------------------------------

Later in the afternoon they ate some of the delicacies, they had brought with them.

"Clark… I was wondering… I have to do something about a job… I mean my finances are precariously close to being extinct."

"Have you searched at all… I mean… what exactly do you want to do?"

"Well… to tell you the truth I would want to do what I know to… I want to pick up my old job… I know that it's difficult to find something like that and in the beginning I just want something to carry me, but I would want to end up doing that…" said Lana thoughtfully.

"Well…" started Clark hesitantly. "I can't help you in that a lot, but I do have a sort of surprise for you. I would have kept it for a more appropriate moment, but since you brought it up…. How do you feel about owning the Talon again?"

"Clark… I would like to help you run it any way I can, but I can't take it from you, it's out of the question."

"No you don't understand… it's not mine to begin with…"

"Hmm… what? Who's is it?" asked Lana surprised.

"Well… My mother left it to you."

Lana just looked at him unconvinced. "Yeah right…"

"Lana I'm not joking. I spoke with out lawyer about the whole will thing and he told me that my mother had left you the Talon. I just wanted to wait till the perfect time to tell you… but I guess this is as good as any…" he said smiling sheepishly. "Surprise!"

Lana was speechless. "I… I can't believe me she left me the Talon… I mean…" she found herself struggling to find the words to say, as she was getting more and more emotional.

"She always said you were like a daughter to her…"

Lana started tearing up as she hugged Clark. "I loved her so much Clark."

"I know you did honey… She loved you too… more than you know…" said Clark softly as he stroked her hair.

-------------------------------------

As Lana was playing hide and seek with Laura, Clark's mobile phone rang.

"Hello…"

"Hello Clark…" Answered Lionel on the other end.

"What do you want Lionel? This is not a very good time." Said clark annoyed as he distanced himself from Lana and Laura.

"I just wanted to thank you for helping me and to inform you that I won't be troubling you again. As far as I'm concerned, I owe you big… So whenever you need something, don't hesitate to seek me out."

"You know what pisses me off the most Lionel… Is that for a fragment of a second, I had actually believed that you might have changed… Until of course I realized that it was all along another one of your schemes to get Luthorcorp from your son… Isn't that right? Aren't you Luthorcorp's new mystery CEO?"

"Clark… What I told you about my goals, was as honest as I have ever been. Luthorcorp is much better off in my hands, and be assured that the world also is better off with Luthorcorp in my hands."

"Well… you better hope you're right, cause if the contrary happens, then you'll find me in front of you in the blink of an eye." Said Clark menacingly.

"Oh I know that clark…"

"And what about your son… You helped him a lot by throwing him out of Luthorcorp."

"I didn't throw him out of Luthorcorp. He's just not the CEO any more. I will make him understand that it was for his own good."

"Yeah right… you went behind his back and tricked him out of his company. That will make him trust you for sure."

"His company? Have I been forgotten so easily? Lex wouldn't be who he is if it wasn't for me. Luthorcorp wouldn't exist without me. … His company… Pah… Besides I didn't trick him I bested him… plain and simple… and I did it with his own best interests in heart… he will see it… in time…"

"Whatever… I don't want to have to deal with you ever again… Do you understand me Lionel?" said Clark menacingly.

"Understood Clark… Goodbye."

Clark put the mobile in his pocket and turned to look at Lana and Laura sitting on the blanket, looking at him expectantly and a bit scared.

As he walked towards them Lana spoke. "Clark is everything ok?"

Clark went over to them and sat down opposite them taking their hands. He smiled sweetly at Lana. "Yes Now it is…"

As they returned to the town, Clark realized that he had to go to his place to get some extra stuff he needed. He wanted to superspeed over there, but Lana insisted on them driving all together.

Clark got in the apartment as Lana and Laura waited outside.

The minute Clark entered he realized someone else was also in there.

He then noticed in the dark living room Lex sitting on the couch looking at him.

"I have been waiting for you Clark."

To be continued…


	36. A hole in the world

**A hole in the world**

Clark tried to remain calm. He could clearly see that Lex wasn't in a good state. He seemed a bit drunk and he looked awful, with black circles around his eyes.

"Lex? What are you doing here?" asked Clark calmly.

"Well… given that you destroyed my life… I thought it was only fair that I paid you a visit…" said Lex smiling.

Clark started to get worried. Lana and Laura were outside the house, but he was still afraid of what Lex would do. He considered super speeding to him and taking him out immediately, but he still wasn't absolutely sure whether he was a big threat.

"Lex you brought that upon yourself… I just told the world the truth…" said Clark really calmly as he walked slowly towards Lex.

"The truth? …The truth? They don't always need to know the truth Clark. People don't want to learn the truth about things. They want to live their lives content that everything is going well around them. Truth is overrated… don't you think?" asked Lex.

"Listen Lex… you don't seem fine man… maybe you should go home and lie down for a while… you look awful…"

"Don't try to patronize me Clark!" shouted Lex as he got up and pulled a gun from his pocket, pointing it at Clark.

Clark then decided that he was too much of a threat and he super sped next to him to take the gun away. But as he got closer to Lex, he started feeling dizzy and nauseous and once he was next to him, he crumbled to the floor. Lex watched him amazed and amused at the same time. "So it is true…" he mumbled.

At that point Lana entered the house with Laura in her arms. "Clark? Is everything alri…." She froze as she saw Lex holding a gun, standing over a fallen Clark.

"Lana… NO! Get out of here!" shouted Clark through gritted teeth.

Lex pointed the gun towards Lana disappointed. "Oh God… I'm sorry Lana… but I can't let you go… I don't want to hurt you and I won't, but I can't let you go now that you know I'm here."

Lana stood there in shock as she considered dashing for the door. She had Laura with her though and she couldn't risk it. Plus she didn't want to leave Clark alone with a drunk –from the looks of it- Lex. _Why is Clark down though? Oh my god! Does he know? Does he have kryptonite with him? How is that possible?_

"Lana please come in here and sit over there." Said Lex pointing to the couch.

Laura remained silent looking on with a mixture of fear and wonderment as they sat on the couch.

"Lex let them go… your gripe is with me…" said Clark with difficulty as the pain was getting to him.

"Shut up Clark… Stop trying to be the hero when in fact you are a snake yourself." He then took out of his pocket a green kryptonite rock. "Is this what's bothering you Clarky?" said Lex with a smirk.

Lana gasped when she saw that.

"I can't believe I was so stupid for so long… I mean… I've got to hand it to you… your whole Clark Kent the fragile harmless farm boy and then reporter, had me going for good… I should have realized it years ago… All those times I couldn't understand what it was you were trying to hide, which takes us back to the day we met… Now it's all so clear to me…" then turning to Lana. "At least I hope he had the courtesy to reveal this to you a whole lot earlier than me."

Lana remained silent, but her unphased expression gave Lex an idea. "Well… at least he didn't screw that up…" then he turned to Clark again. "And to imagine all these years I've been trying to justify myself and my actions to you! A man who knows nothing of the word honesty! Well… at least I never pretended to be someone I'm not Clark! You knew my flaws and my weaknesses… That's not really fair don't you think?"

"I did it to protect the people close to me Lex! My parents and my friends."

"Oh yes! Of course! Ever the hero! To protect them from me! Because I never helped your family, or your friends! Right… Why don't you admit it that all these years you've been judging me, when you should have been looking at yourself…"

"I made mistakes Lex that's for sure… But I don't think deciding to help people is one of them… or to oppose people like you." Said Clark with a grim face trying to hide his pain.

"Oh that again… people like me… And what kind of people is that Clark? Strong? Who know what they want? Successful? Rich? What? What group of people am I part of that you oppose?"

"Unscrupulous. With no consideration of the collateral damage you may cause to achieve your goals! You had grown so much in power Lex, that you considered yourself untouchable. Almost infallible. A god!"

"Hah… Look who's talking about aspirations of godlihood! You go around in a costume… with a cape… and a big symbol on your chest… flying… catching airplanes and moving mountains… yeah… you're right… I'm the one who was behaving like a god among mortal men Clark… Sorry I didn't see that sooner."

"Oh quit your whining Lex!" snapped an agitated Lana. "Whatever Clark has done, he helped a lot of people and he hasn't hurt a single soul. He has tried to show the rest of us that by being decent human beings we can actually make a difference. It's not about ourselves! Clark is the most selfless person I've known my entire life. He has suffered because of this, but he doesn't sit around blaming everyone around him and his fate, he actually tries to deal with things as they come to him, and then again worries for everyone else. You on the other hand are always going on about yourself and your company and what everyone else is doing to poor little Lex!"

Lex looked at her with no apparent emotion on his face. "You may be right about this Lana… but what can I say… I'm only **human.** And he hasn't hurt a soul? What about you Lana, hasn't he hurt you? What about me? What about Pete or Chloe or Lois? We all hurt people… It's in our nature to hurt others and get hurt… but … you're a bit biased on this subject so I'll ask you to sit down and be quiet for now."

"No Lex… please… you're taking this too far…" said Lana trying to calm Lex down.

"Too far? I have lost my company! The one thing that mattered to me most in the world! I strived 24/7 for the last 15 years to make it what it was, and he destroyed that in one day! Too far? And now… that I'm out of favor with all the big boys… it seems there are a lot of people who want me taken care of… too far? No Lana…" turning to Clark, "Do you know what I should do to get even with you Clark? Tell me do you? I should kill both of them right here in front of you and then let you live with the knowledge that it was because of you."

Instinctively when she heard this Lana wrapped her arms around Laura even tighter.

"But you're lucky that I'm not the monster you think I am or the psychopath that a lot think I am… I couldn't hurt either of them… so… I'll just have to deal with killing you…"

When he said that, Lana instinctively jumped up and tried to grab the gun away from him.

"No … Lana… stay out of this…" said Lex as he struggled with her to keep hold of the gun.

"No! LANA!" shouted Clark as he was lying helpless on the floor.

Then Lex managed to push Lana to the floor away from him shouting: "I said stay out of this! I don't want to have to hurt you!"

Then once more he turned his gun towards Clark. "Good bye Clark!"

He said as he threw the Kryptonite on the fallen Clark and immediately pulled the trigger.

Clark's voice was heard louder than the gunshot, when he yelled: "NO!"

Lex was frozen with shock and the gun slipped from his hands and fell to the floor, as he repeated: "No, no, no"

Laura who was frightened with all the commotion had started to cry.

And Lana was now lying on top of Clark, with blood pouring from her back where the bullet hit her, after she dove on top of Clark.

Clark held her and looked at her blinking eyes in disbelief, as he the pain he felt from the effects of the Kryptonite had been replaced by much greater emotional pain in his stomach and his chest.

"C…Clark?" whispered Lana with trembling lips.

"Shhh… don't try to speak… You'll be alright honey… I promise…"

Lex fell to his knees as he looked on almost zombie-like.

Lana smiled weakly but sweetly at him. "Please… Clark… take care of my baby…"

"Don't speak like that you'll be ok… you'll see." Said Clark with tears in his eyes.

"Clark… I…" then her eyes closed.

"NO!" shouted Clark as he wrapped his arms around her. Then he turned to Lex. "LEX! Take this thing away from me!" shouted Clark referring to the Kryptonite.

Lex in the same zombie like state he was in, simply caught the Kryptonite and threw it away. Then Clark mustering all his strength got up with Lana still in his hands. He approached Laura who was still crying. "Laura sweetie… I want you to do something for me… Grab on to my neck and hold me tightly can you do that sweetie." Said Clark as tears were freely running from his face.

Laura nodded her little head and wrapped her arms around Clark's neck. Then Clark sped off, leaving Lex looking on emotionless, still like a statue, with a single tear running down his face.

To be continued…


	37. We'll never know

**We'll never know**

Clark watched the people and the doctors all run about him like in a dream. A bad dream at that. He couldn't think logically as he was waiting for any kind of news from the doctors. They had taken her to the operating room and he hadn't heard anything still. The only thing that was still keeping him sane and in control, was the little girl he was holding protectively in his arms as she was sleeping.

He was numb. He didn't feel pain or sadness and he didn't cry. He was afraid that giving in to sadness and shedding a tear over what had happened, would somehow make it more real than it already was. No, he wouldn't cry because she was going to be ok. There were no two ways about it. So he started thinking of what they would do once this craziness was behind them.

Even though he loved Laura to death, he kinda hoped they could leave her with Nell for a couple of days so that they could go somewhere just the two of them. They hadn't been alone just the two of them in so long. He imagined waking up beside her day after day, but then just thinking of her beautiful face in peaceful sleep, it tore him up inside as he was quickly reminded that she was now fighting for her life. And all of this because of him.

He had promised to always keep her safe, but again somehow he managed to bring trouble to her. This was the culmination of his fears from ever since he was a teenager in Smallville, and thought that she might be better off without him in her life.

But it was a fact that the last couple of weeks had made Clark a bit more selfish. He wanted her in his life. If he was honest, he had to admit that now he realized he couldn't live without her.

"Clark" a female voice was heard that brought him back from his trance.

As he turned he saw Nell running over to him. She had obviously been crying all the way to the hospital. She had come very quickly after he called her.

"Clark… don't lie to me please… how is she?" she said with a choked voice.

Clark looked at her and considered what to say. "They took her to the operating room Nell. I still haven't heard anything from them."

Nell sat down near Clark and gently stroked Laura's hair. "Oh my poor baby…" she mumbled as tears fell from her eyes. "How is Laura?"

"She is pretty tired… She doesn't quite understand what's going on, but it's quite obvious she knows something's not right. Before she fell asleep, she was asking for Lana…" said Clark almost coldly.

Nell covered her face with her hands. "Oh Clark… is she going to make it?"

Clark turned to her dead serious. "Absolutely… There is no way I'm letting her die Nell…"

Nell looked at Clark curiously. Then a sympathetic look appeared on her face, as she squeezed Clark's hands supportingly. "Oh Clark… I know this must be hard for you too… but there's nothing you can do here sweetie…"

Clark just looked at her with an empty stare.

----------------------------------

It was hours before they were allowed to her room. Before he entered, a doctor approached Clark. "Sir… I just want you to know that we did everything in our power for her… The rest is up to her… But you have to understand how severe her situation is. I… I just want you to be aware of the situation…"

Clark just nodded to what the doctor told him. He hadn't heard exactly what he said to him, but it was quite obvious what he meant. Then without saying a word he entered the room.

He almost lost it when he saw her laying on that bed so weak and pale, connected to all those machines. His knees almost gave in, so he grabbed a chair and sat down as he started for the first time to sob without restraint. He took hold of her hand and squeezed it gently. "I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry Lana…"

He remained like that for quite some time, letting it all out. After there were no more tears left to shed, Clark couldn't take it any more so he exited the room. On the hall way he saw Chloe there talking to Nell.

When Chloe saw him come out of Lana's room, she ran to him and gave him a warm hug. She said nothing to him, she just took hold of his hand and led him to the hospital's waiting room and sat him down. She then went and brought him a cup of coffee. As she sat beside him she held his hand. "Clark… if you need anything at all… just know that I'll be here for as long as you need me…"

Clark managed to put on a weak smile, to thank Chloe, but then as he thought he would break down again, he embraced her once more as he wept softly on her shoulder. Chloe tried to soothe him.

"It's ok… Clark… just let it out…"

"She's here because of me Chloe…" said Clark with a breaking voice.

"I don't believe that Clark…"

"It's not a matter of whether you believe that or not Chloe,…" Clark paused as he started to whisper. "Lex had me subdued with Kryptonite and he was about to kill me and she jumped on top of me… Can you imagine that! I mean… that bullet was meant for me…"

"Clark… she chose to do that… she did that cause she loved you… it was not your fault…"

"She shouldn't have been brought to that position in the first place Chloe!"

"But Clark… it was also her decision… She chose all this because she loves you… I bet that if she had to do it all again she would have done the same thing…"

Clark remained thoughtful for a while, then he gave Chloe a weak but genuine smile. "You know what's the part I can't even comprehend… even I, with all my powers and invincibility, I hesitate, even for a second, just before I enter a burning house, or being caught in an explosion, even though I know they probably won't hurt me… She didn't hesitate at all Chloe! I… I don't…" he couldn't finish what he was thinking as he started to cry softly again.

Chloe looked at him with a sympathetic smile. "Well… Lana always loved you Clark… and I'm sure she would do anything for you… I mean… I'm sure you wouldn't hesitate either if it was to help her or protect her."

Clark turned abruptly and very serious. "Not a second…"

-------------------------------------

_Hmm… I'm wakened by someone calling me… "Mr. Kent…" I hear him say over an over… I can barely open my eyes… this blue light bothers me… I open my eyes reluctantly and look at this doctor sleepily… He starts saying something to me… something I can't quite understand… his voice is almost on mute… Then I see in the background Nell, Chloe, Pete and Lois all in tears as they look at me… Everyone is looking at me sympathetically… No I don't want to hear what he's saying to me… I don't care for whatever he has to say to me… I try to shut all senses… become numb… that's the way… yes… I have to keep it together… must keep it together… Where is Laura… she can help me keep it together… Where is Laura… The doctor in front of me insists on telling me the same thing… Doesn't he understand I don't want to listen to what he has to say… cause all he'll say are lies… I know it… she can't… she just can't… and then they echo in my head… the words… "Mr. Kent… I'm sorry but we lost her…" _

To be continued…


	38. Take me away

**Take me away**

_What day is this? How long have I been standing here? I don't care… faces all these sad faces looking at me… it starts to rain slowly… good… that way they will think I'm crying… I can't cry… the priest keeps talking about stuff that never truly mattered to me… only her… no… I won't cry… I will not feel sad… Chloe beside me squeezes my hand supportively… I think she's confused by my cold emotionless expression… everybody is…but I refuse to feel sad… it's as if all this will become real with the drop of a tear… and I know it's not real… it can't be… but why am I not waking… I won't cry… I have to keep it together… Laura… she can help me… where is Laura? … Pete is standing right beside me… he is crying like a baby… I guess he feels that he had something to do with all of this… and Lois… she is also crying… everyone is… except for me… Nell can't even watch the coffin… she is crying on the shoulder of her husband… But they don't know yet… they don't know that it's not real… they'll see… _

_How long have I been standing here? … No… they can't do this… they lower her into the ground… Come on… why am I not awake yet? … No… they can't do that… I want to jump in there rip it open take her and fly off… away from here… that's what I'll do… but why am I not doing anything… No… No… I mustn't cry! No… Why am I crying… My heart aches… I… I think I will be sick… Come on Clark… it's time to wake up… wake up damn it! Wake up!_

_No… Chloe is trying to lead me away from here… No they won't take me away from her… But why am I not doing anything? Why does my body refuse to do what I want… I don't want to go… I'll stay here with her… with her…_

_I… I refuse to believe this is happening… people are giving their condolences to Nell… me and Chloe are sitting on the side as I cry… I can't deal with them right now… I can't deal with any of this… There's nothing more left for me… just this vast emptiness… that's all I see in front of me… and this damned blue light… Chloe wraps her arms around me as I start to sob violently… Everyone turns and looks at me… they all stare at me… these faces… but all I want to see is her… I can't find her anywhere… why is this happening? … I just want to lay here and sleep for ever… next to her… Laura? … where is Laura?_

_My head is spinning… I think I'm drowning… I can't breathe… maybe that's best… yes… I'll let go and just drown here… that way I'll be with her… yes that's what I'll do… ah… it feels better already… yes… just let go… _

_ ----->_

"Mr. KENT!" said the doctor a bit louder as he lightly shook Clark.

Clark gasped and opened his eyes as he took in a deep breath. He looked around him for a bit bewildered.

_It was a dream… Calm down… it was just a dream… _

"Mr. Kent…" said the doctor again, as Clark saw something that made his blood freeze.

He saw on the corridor, Nell, Chloe and Pete standing there with tears in their eyes looking at him.

_No… this can't be happening now…_

"Mr. Kent… I'm afraid…" started saying the doctor, as Clark felt his heart literally stop beating. "we're losing her… Now is the time for anything you want to say to her…"

Clark stood up and pushed the doctor away.

_No chance in Hell._

He marched with determination towards her room. Chloe caught him before he went in.

"Clark wait… what is wrong with you?"

"I'm not letting this happen Chloe…"

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm taking her out of here." Said Clark with grim determination in his face.

"But Clark… How are you going to explain it to everyone?"

"I don't care!" shouted Clark a bit too abruptly. He then softened his voice. "I'm sorry Chloe… But I really don't care… I'm taking her out of here and that's that… Keep the others busy for a while…"

As he said that he entered the room.

He walked in slowly towards the bed. Lana seemed awake but just barely.

"Hey you…" she whispered weakly as she saw him.

It tore Clark inside to see her like this, but he managed to put a smile on for her. He approached her and leaned in to place a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Clark… I know I don't have a lot of time…" started saying Lana softly.

"No Lana… you'll be ok… I promise…" said Clark looking at her smiling.

Lana smiled weakly at him. "Lying never became you Clark… I heard the doctors… It's ok… I…"

"No Lana… when I say I promise… I mean it. You will be ok. But to do that, I'm going to have to take you away from here… do you think you can handle that for me honey?"

Lana looked at him not sure what to make of what he was telling her. "Clark… please… don't make this harder than it is…"

"Lana trust me… please… besides I want to show you something…"

Clark removed the wires and the tubes carefully, and really gently picked her up in his arms, as Lana winced from the pain.

"I'm sorry sweetie…" said Clark softly kissing her head. "Just hold on to me and try to hang on for a little while more. Ok? Can you do that for me?"

Lana closed her eyes and leaned her head against his chest as she nodded her head. "Clark… what do you want to show me?"

As Clark moved towards the window and opened it, he looked down at her and smiled. "My home…"

And with that he flew out towards the night sky.

To be Continued…


	39. Stand my ground

**Stand my ground**

Clark tried to fly as slowly as he could out of fear of Lana getting worse, but at the same time the feeling of urgency to get her there fast, spurred him on. He constantly talked to her, kissed her head and tried to soothe her, but it was obvious to him that she was slowly slipping away.

When he neared his destination and the cold became almost unbearable, for a human being, Lana drifted away. Clark then flew as quickly as he could to the place where no human had ever stepped before.

As the crystal temple-like structure came into view, Clark landed quickly and attempted to enter it while he was still holding Lana in his hands. But as he tried to walk in, something momentarily blocked his path.

"No mortal being shall enter this holiest of places for our people Kal El." Said his father's voice.

"I'm taking her in there." Said Clark not waiting for a discussion.

As he stepped through, he was engulfed by a bright light and when the light subsided he was standing inside his "fortress of Solitude", but he was no longer holding Lana.

Clark panicked. "Where is she?" he screamed inside the crystal structure, which echoed his voice over and over.

Nothing but his echo came back to him and Clark started to get really angry.

"Tell me where she is or I'll tear this place apart with my own hands!"

Again no answer was heard and Clark gave off an enraged cry, as he banged his fists on the ground, causing the whole structure to shake violently.

Then Clark saw a figure standing across from him. The figure seemed vaguely familiar and as Clark strained his mind to remember where he had seen him before it hit him. It was the same guy he had seen 15 years ago, on the day of the second meteor shower, trying to kill Lana.

"I am the protector of the knowledge. All who threaten it shall be punished. Even you Kal El."

Clark was getting angrier by the minute. His mind was almost clouded by rage and a slowly growing feeling of revenge. A revenge he couldn't extract the first time they met.

"Where is she?" he screamed to the guy slowly approaching him.

"She is of no consequence any more Kal El." Said the guy coldly.

"I see you won't take the easy way out, which is fine… cause I owe you something from the first time we met." Said Clark as his eyes almost shined from the rage he was feeling.

He propelled himself like a rocket towards the man in black. Upon impact the guy flew across the vast chamber and crushed against the wall, as the whole structure shook violently.

"Where is she?" shouted Clark even louder causing another tremor.

The guy in black stood up and launched himself against Clark full speed. Reacting faster than the eye can see, Clark grabbed him mid air and pummeled him to the ground really hard, burying him a couple of feet beneath him. He grabbed him again and lift him back up. As he held his momentarily stunned opponent a couple of feet off the ground, Clark leaned closer and menacingly to him.

"I'll ask once more and then it's going to get really ugly! Where is…"

Before he had a chance to finish his sentence, his opponent managed to land a powerful blow on Clark, that sent him reeling to the ground. Clark though was back on his feet really quickly and as the man in black was near him ready to attack, Clark hit him full force towards the ground. The result was a huge hole that went on for several feet underground, and his opponent buried down there.

"No matter what you throw at me, I will find her! Where is she?"

As he was shouting to his father a searing energy hit Clark and propelled him backwards. From out the hole came his opponent again. They stood opposite one another for a second before the man in black unleashed a powerful energy wave against Clark. Clark braced himself for the impact, but still it was too much. He fell to his knees as he screamed in agony. He felt the world around him fade as he was struggling to think and breathe. As he was starting to lose consciousness, his mind raced to the only thing that mattered to him.

_Lana… I'm sorry… I failed you… I…_

Then as he was thinking this, something inside him stirred.

_What the hell am I thinking? She never gave up on me… and I'm not going to give up now! Lana will not die! No two ways about it!_

He mustered all his strength and will and he got up, as his opponent continued to hit him with powerful waves of energy, that made his body tremble with each impact. Still, Clark kept on walking slowly but steadily towards his opponent. As he approached him, he saw the man in black look at him bewildered. Clark was now standing in front of him gritting his teeth to withstand the powerful energy that was hitting him. Then he grabbed his opponent and lift him high in the air. Before he had a chance to do anything though, a bright light shone around him and his father's voice was heard again.

"ENOUGH!"

Like that his opponent was gone. Clark fell to his knees exhausted, physically and mentally from the confrontation.

"My son… Lana Lang has served her purpose…"

"Served her purpose? Served her purpose?" repeated Clark more angrily. "And what purpose might that be in your twisted logic? Saving me today? She saved me the day I met her! And has been doing that ever since, in more ways that you can possibly fathom! I would not be who I am, had it not been for her! She made me want to be a better man! She showed me all about kindness and understanding, when all I saw around me were small minds and small people! With her I learnt the most important thing in life! To love! I am because of her and I won't be without her!" said Clark finally giving in to tears as he bowed his head in frustration.

"My son it is her time! We can't interfere in the lives…"

Clark cut him off. "Can't interfere? But that's all I'm doing! I've saved countless people so far in my life, and you're asking me not to interfere now that the one person I care about most in this world is in need of my help! The one person I owe my life to? How is that logical?"

"My son… to save her you would need to sacrifice a very important item that should be saved for you! It would jeopardize your future and in consequence the many people you won't be able to save without this."

"I don't care! What is this item?" shouted Clark defiantly.

"It's what we called the "Sun crystal". It can produce energy that accelerates the growth rate of cells, which effectively can heal somebody of the most serious of wounds. But son… that is meant for you, as you will need it in the future."

"She needs it now, so please father, help me! Help me!"

Jor-El remained silent.

To be continued…


	40. Always and Forever

**Always and Forever…**

"I need you to help her father… I know it's selfish… but right now I don't care what the repercussions will be…" said Clark as he was on his knees, with bowed head and tears in his eyes.

"Kal-El…" started saying Jor-El before he was interrupted by Clark looking up with determination in his face.

"She goes… I go! Simple as that!"

Silence followed. Clark remained on his knees with a grim determination on his face. Then Jor-El's voice echoed in the vastness of the Crystal structure.

"Son… the Sun Crystal is the temple itself. Once you use its powers it will be no more!"

"I understand!"

"Very well then…"

A blinding light emanated from the centre of the temple as a crystal shaped form appeared on the floor and on it Lana laying still. When Clark saw that he ran towards her. He knelt down and looked at her face. Strangely enough she wasn't pale. She looked as beautiful as ever and seemed peaceful. Clark stroked her cheek lightly with tears in his eyes and leaned in and kissed her tenderly on the lips.

A wave of energy shot from the top of the temple and engulfed them both. When Clark's eyes were adjusted again, he was standing in a white space and Lana was standing in front of him. He immediately ran and embraced her tightly.

"Clark… what's going on?" asked a perplexed Lana.

"Don't you worry about a thing Lana… Everything will be alright now…"

"Clark what did you do? You shouldn't have jeopardized so much…"

"Lana… I can not be without you… besides it was the least I could do after that stunt you pulled in my house…" said Clark smiling.

"But you're way more important to the world Clark…"

"No Lana… It's people like you who are more important to the world. What I offer to the world is a short-term solution to problems they should really be dealing with, themselves. People like you make the world not need someone like me. And that's a thousand times more important."

Lana smiled sweetly at him. "I never realized you saw me like that… although I really think you're not giving yourself enough credit."

Clark smiled warmly at her. "Well…besides… you've made me somewhat selfish, and now… well… I just can't live without you…"

Lana smiled and kissed him tenderly on the lips. Then they remained embraced as if that's where they always belonged, in each other's arms… as one.

--------------------------------------

Lana opened her eyes and saw she was in her room. She felt confused at first not quite sure what had happened. Then the memories came flooding back. Lex threatening Clark, the fight and then the sharp pain in her back. She remembered being in the hospital and learning she was going to die. She remembered the crippling emotion of knowing that she was not going to see her daughter or Clark again and then she remembered Clark taking her to a place and … then her memories were very cloudy. She had the distinct feeling though that Clark had done something very important. Some sort of sacrifice, but she wasn't sure. She then realized that the pain in her back was gone.

She got out of bed and put on a t-shirt and jeans. As she was getting dressed she looked in the mirror and saw that she didn't even have a scar or any mark on her back.

She got out of her room and headed downstairs. Something smelled beautifully. When she went to the kitchen she smiled amused. Clark was in there with an apron and was apparently cooking as he was explaining what he was doing to Laura, who was looking at him very interested in the arms of Nell.

"So you see Laura… if you let the spaghetti boil for a long time, it becomes very soft puddy-like… we don't want that… so…"

As Lana giggled they all turned towards her. Laura fought to get free from the arms of Nell and she let her on the floor, as Laura run excitedly to Lana. "Mommy!"

Lana wrapped Laura in a warm hug as she kissed her. Nell also came near her and hugged both of them. "I was so worried…" said Nell as she started crying, while holding Lana and Laura.

Clark watched them smiling satisfied. He had taken a very big risk with what he had done, but he would do it again and again if he had to. Nothing mattered to him like the family he had come to consider his own.

After Lana Laura and Nell broke their embrace, Lana turned to Clark and smiled to him sweetly. He approached her and looked her deep in the eyes with such love, that made Lana tear up. He then smiled at her. He tenderly wiped the tear that had just started to make its way from her beautiful eyes down her cheek.

"I love you." He said as he leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips. He then took her in his arms and held her like he was holding her for the first time.

They remained like that for a few seconds till they felt something down on their legs. As they looked down they saw little Laura hugging both their legs trying to be part of the hug.

Clark laughed and took her in his arms as they hugged again all three of them; as a family.

--------------------------------------

Lana rolled around as she pulled on the sheets around her. Clark laughed and tried to pull the sheets back.

"Quit hogging the sheets." He said as he started to tickle her so that she let go of the sheets.

"Hey… that's not fair…" Lana managed to say in between bursts of laughter.

"What do you need it for anyway? You can't get cold…" said Lana. "I'm cold…" she said making a puppy face to him.

Clark laughed. "Look who's talking about fair… you know I can't say no to that face you make…"

Lana smiled triumphantly as she wrapped the sheets around her and Clark fell back on the bed in defeat. "You know… I'm afraid I will spoil you… I can't seem to be able to say no to you… then you'll become a spoiled little girl." He said smiling slyly to her.

"And that's bad why?" said Lana sexily as she traced with her fingers the muscles on his chest.

"Well… if you put it that way…" said Clark as he kissed her passionately.

When they broke the kiss they remained in each other's arms as Lana rested her head on his chest.

"Clark… what happened with the hospital?" asked Lana hesitantly.

"What do you mean?"

"How did you explain the whole thing to them?"

"Oh… that… Well… Lionel contacted me while you were still there, and he wanted to apologize that things turned out the way they did… he then told me that anything I needed I could call him… so I did… and he sort of… covered up the whole thing…" said Clark not feeling comfortable with the whole situation.

"I hate it that the Luthor's were involved again. What do you think will happen to Lex?"

"Well… after he surrendered himself to the police, I'm not sure… I mean… if Lionel was honest with what he told me… I'm sure he will try to help him… but… that remains to be seen… Lana… Let's not talk about the Luthors anymore… I will make sure they never interfere with our lives again. Right now and from now on… all I care about is you and Laura…"

Lana lift her head and looked at him sweetly. "You still mean what you said the other day?"

"What is that?" asked Clark feigning ignorance.

Lana shot him an evil look as she slapped him on the shoulder. "You know what I'm talking about."

Clark smiled. "Yeah… about that… well… you know… I …. I was…"

"Clark!" said Lana as she sat up on the bed annoyed.

Clark smiled again and pulled her down to a passionate kiss. After they broke the kiss, Clark looked at her smiling. "I wouldn't have it any other way my love!"

-------------------------------------

Some years Later…

A small boy burst out of the door of a farm house giggling. He ran straight into the yard and paused on the outer door. He looked expectantly towards the door of the house, as it swung open and Clark stepped out.

"Jonathan come back here, your mother will be sad when she sees you didn't finish your dinner."

Jonathan giggled again and super-sped out of the yard and into the field. Clark smiled and super-sped after him. He chased him around in the large field that stretched out from their house.

Lana came out of the house with Laura beside her. "Boys…don't get all sweaty… we'll have to leave soon…" she shouted towards them. Clark paused for a while and gave her a thumbs up as he kept on chasing Jonathan.

"Mom… can I go run with them too?"

Lana smiled at her daughter. "Laura your dad and your brother will have to take a bath again when they return… you don't want to do that again?"

Laura looked at Lana in protest. "No… I just had a bath… I'm not a fish mom!"

Clark finally reached his son and took him in his arms. "Come here you little devil."

Jonathan giggled excitedly as his father carried him on his shoulder, back to the house. For a minute Clark felt something inside him. A sense of peace. He paused for a while looked up and smiled. He then kept on walking towards his family.

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_"You will not be able to embrace who you really are Clark. Not now. Not until you've lived life and realize who you are and what you want. Until that day comes you will be trying. And through it, that realization will eventually come.Then, I promise you, you will be at peace." -Martha Kent_

**THE END**

Yep. That was the end guys. Thanks to everyone who commented on my story. I hope you enjoyed the ride.

Tayrion.


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